


I jumped off the deep end

by xxawalkinwonderlandxx



Series: We Found Love In An Airport [2]
Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Bellamy is just a really standup guy, Clarke is stressed, F/M, He really didn’t stand a chance against the Griffin girls, POV Bellamy Blake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-05-16 00:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 90,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19307278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxawalkinwonderlandxx/pseuds/xxawalkinwonderlandxx
Summary: Bellamy meets an exhausted single mom and her daughter in the airport, and he just really wants to help them out"You're too good to be true" from Bellamy's POV :)You don’t have to read part 1 to read this, but I suggest you read it at some point to get Clarke’s POV! :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> People have asked and here it is! I'm not sure if I'm going to do the entire story from Bellamy's POV yet (hence the ? for number of chapters) but if you like this then please let me know! It's longer than the first chapter had been for "You're too good to be true" and I found that kind of funny lol
> 
> Sorry for any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes!

Bellamy had just waved bye to Sterling before turning around and heading back towards the entrance to the airport. It was nice getting to see someone from he was younger, but he doubted that they’d really meet up again. Since it was spring break, Sterling had stayed a week hanging out with Bellamy and everyone else, he didn’t get much sleep the night before and hadn’t been able to grab anything to eat before he made the drive to the airport. _Maybe I should get something from here before I head back home_.

He scans the surrounding places to eat and decides to grab a sandwich and an apple from one of the shops before heading back towards one of the sitting areas. The brochure stand catches his attention and he walks over, picking up some of the leaflets on Rome and Crete, then takes a seat near the sitting area with all of the flowers. It’s pretty nice for the inside of an airport, some of the other ones had been in didn’t compare to this one. He takes his time eating, since he’s really in no rush today, and after he moves on to the apple, he’s looking at the Crete brochure.

It’s when he finishes his apple and is about to get up when someone walks up to him. He assumes it’s someone about to ask for directions but he’s surprised when it’s a little girl in a blue dress with a bow in her hair. And she looks almost terrified. He looks around, but he doesn’t see a grownup looking for her.

“Hi, are you okay?” Bellamy sets the apple core down next to him on one of the brochures and the little girl in front of him starts to pout. “My name is Bell, what’s yours?”

“Madi.” The little girl’s eyes start to shine and his heart clenches. He scoots off the bench and kneels down in front of her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“Madi, did you lose your parents?”

The little girl nods her head and the tears start to come more freely. “Mama.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He scans the crowd again, looking for someone franticly searching for their kid, but he still doesn’t see anyone. “Want me to help you find your mom?” She swallows and nods her head. “Okay.”

Bellamy turns and grabs the apple core and sandwich wrapper from the bench before standing up. He thinks about Octavia and August and how distraught she would be, so he can only imagine what this girl’s mother is going through. When he looks down at Madi, the little girl takes his hand and he gives her a reassuring smile. “Let’s throw this away then go look for your mom.”

Thankfully, the trashcan isn’t far so once his trash is gone, he starts looking in the crowd again. He’s not sure who he’s looking for but he figures that there’s no way Madi could see very clearly from the ground, so he kneels down again.

“Hey, do you want me to lift you up so you can look for your mama?” Madi’s big blue eyes turn to his and she nods her head. Her tears have dried, which he’s happy about, but there’s still the issue of trying to find her mom inside this huge airport. He picks Madi up and sets her on his shoulders, holding onto her hands to keep her there. He walks slowly to give Madi time to look around. “Let me know when you see her, okay?”

“Okay.”

“What does she look like?”

“Pretty.”

 _Pretty._ Despite the situation, he smiles. He knows he should probably try to ask her for more details but he assumes he’ll be able to tell who the mom is based on her body language. He remembers when he lost O in Walmart and how scared he had been, so, yeah, he could probably tell.

He’s turning around the corner of the seating area when Madi calls ‘mama’ and a woman screams back “ _Madi!”_ Bellamy’s head immediately turns towards the woman and he can see her running towards them. _Pretty indeed._ He curses himself for letting his mind drift to that, but it’s true. As the woman gets closer, he leans down to let her take Madi off his shoulders. “Madison Daphne Griffin don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

“I sorry mama.”

“Oh, honey.” Bellamy watches as the mom holds onto her daughter as if her life depends on it. He had done the same thing when he found Octavia and he’s not surprised to see that she’s crying. “You said you would stay put.” Madi’s mom pulls her closer before standing and looking at Bellamy. She has blonde hair, a stark contrast to her daughters brown, but he notices that their eyes are the same color. “Thank you so much—”

“Bell.” Madi smiles at her mom as she says Bellamy’s name and it makes him smile.

“Bell?” The corners of her mom’s mouth turn up.

“Bellamy, but Bell is easier to say.”

“Thank you, Bellamy. I just turned to get my coffee and then—oh my _stuff_ , I left my stuff in the coffee shop.” The woman turns around and darts back in the direction she came from and Bellamy only hesitates for a second before deciding to follow her. She doesn’t seem like she’s here with anybody else, and he knows if Octavia were in this situation, she’d need someone to help.

When they reach the coffee shop, he watches as her shoulders sag in relief once she notices her belongings still there. It’s already stressful enough that she lost her child, he could imagine that her stuff disappearing would be the last thing she needs. She sets Madi down on the seat and turns towards her stuff.

“Do you need any help?” He watches as she goes through some of the pockets on her duffle bag then turns to look at him, her blue eyes piercing. “Uh, I’m sorry, is that weird?” Bellamy smiles nervously and rubs the back of his neck. He keeps thinking of Octavia in this situation and it just makes him want to help more. “I help my sister out with her son, I just thought—”

“Up!” Bellamy breaks off and looks at Madi. She’s standing up on the seat now and reaching up towards him. It kind of reminds him of when Octavia was her age. “Up.” Bellamy looks over at her mother. He’s willing to put Madi back on his shoulders but since her mom is here, he isn’t going to just pick her up. Her mom shrugs and gives him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry she loves riding on people’s shoulders.”

“It’s not a problem, do you mind?” He smiles and he can see the mom thinking about it. He remembers being taught ‘stranger danger’ when he was younger, and he knows first hand that mama bears do anything to protect their cubs. This woman is no different, so he’s kind of surprised when she smiles back at him.

“Madi, what have we talked about?”

“Up, please.” The little girl gives him a big smile and he can’t help the grin that breaks across his face as he reaches down to pick her up.

“I’m Clarke, by the way. I just realized that I didn’t tell you my name. Clarke Griffin.” He holds out his hand and she shakes it. Her hand is soft compared to his and he notices the paint caught in her finger nails.

“Bellamy Blake. Coming in or heading out?” He motions towards the rest of the airport.

“Just got in, I’m waiting for a friend to pick me up but she’s late.”

Bellamy has experienced a friend being late to pick him up from the airport before, but he’s never had to do that with a kid. Before he can really process what he’s doing he’s already offering her a ride. “If you want, I can give you a ride, I just dropped one of my friends off then I’m heading back home, but I can drop you off wherever you need.”

He watches as her eyebrows rise a little as she processes what he’s said. He knows that it’s probably strange to offer her and her daughter a ride, and even stranger if she actually accepts it, but he can’t fight the urge to want to help her.

“That’s really nice, but I’m going to Arkadia, it’s kind of a drive.” She gives him a polite smile and he’s momentarily stunned at how pretty it is. Then he realizes that she just said Arkadia.

“You live in Arkadia?” His eyebrows shoot up.

“Yeah, why?”

“That’s where I’m headed.” _Weird that we’re from the same city_.

“ _You_ live in Arkadia?” The way she says it makes him smirk.

“Is that surprising?”

“You just don’t seem like the type.” She mumbles and shrugs before turning around to grab her duffle bag and her cup of coffee. _This is it, time to say goodbye_. He can’t place it, but he really doesn’t want to say bye to her yet. _Maybe it’s just because she’s gorgeous_.

“And what type would that be?” He cocks his head to the side a little and he can see the tips of her ears go red.

“Uh, were you serious about the ride?” Her question throws him for a loop, considering he didn’t think she would actually take him up on it. But it’s not a very sneaky way of changing the subject.

“I was.”

“Then let’s go.” She motions towards the door of the shop and Bellamy can’t help but smile at her.

They walk through the airport with Madi still on his shoulders and Clarke walking beside him sipping on her drink. From the few glances that Bellamy gets of her, he can tell she’s tired. Her shoulders are slumped a little, there’s bags under her eyes, and despite the coffee she’s nursing on, it seems like she could curl up on the floor and go to sleep. They don’t talk as they make their way into the parking garage and towards his truck, and he lets out a sigh of relief when he realizes he hadn’t had time to take August’s car seat out of his back seat.

Clarke hangs back and he can hear her talking to someone else, probably her friend or boyfriend, telling them that she’s found a ride. He’s just about made it to his truck when her voice carries throughout the parking garage and he turns to look at her. _Not boyfriend then_. She mouths _sorry_ and he just nods his head before turning back towards his truck. He’s already buckling Madi up in August’s car seat when he feels Clarke reach his side.

“You have a car seat?”

“It’s for my nephew. He’s close to Madi’s age.” Bellamy calls over his shoulder then motions for Clarke to give him her duffle bag. It’s heavier than he expected and he finds himself wondering how she was able to carry this _and_ her two year old without breaking a sweat. “Everything all set? Was your friend worried about you accepting a ride from a stranger?”

“Oh, no, she’s actually surprisingly cool with it.” _She is?_ He knows for a fact that if Octavia, or Harper, or Maya, or Emori told him that they were accepting a ride from some random stranger they just met he wouldn’t be okay with that at all. Not that they aren’t capable of taking care of themselves, but still.

“Really? That’s surprising.” Bellamy tries to go over how her friend could possibly be okay with this as he opens the passenger door for Clarke and helping her in.

“Yeah, Raven says hi.” He sees the little smirk on her face as she settles into the seat and he must look dumbfounded because it morphs into a grin. _She means Raven Reyes_. He chuckles and shakes his head as he makes his way around his truck and towards his driver seat.

“Raven Reyes? That’s your friend?” He turns the truck on and has to keep himself from laughing. _Of all the people…_

“Yeah, we’ve been friends for the past three years,” Clarke explains. He met Raven around that time too. He pulls out of his parking spot and starts the descent towards the exit of the parking garage. Neither of them say anything and Clarke keeps sipping on her drink, though her eyelids look like they’re drooping a little more than they had been. It’s only when they pull out onto the highway that she turns to look at him. “So, Bellamy, tell me about yourself.”

A small smile makes it’s way onto his lips. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Hmm…” Clarke turns back towards the road, her fingers tapping on her knee. “You said that you have a sister and a nephew, could you tell me about them?”

Now he definitely can’t help the smile that makes its way onto his face. “Octavia is my little sister, and she’s married to a guy named Lincoln. They have a son, August, and he’s a year and a half.” He can see her begin to smile too as he keeps talking about them. He tells her how Lincoln is a freelance photographer that’s really good at what he does, and how Octavia has her own diner, but he doesn’t go into the situation with his mother or anything like that.

“What about you?” Clarke props her elbow up on his door and rests her head in her hand, looking at him. “Lincoln does photography, Octavia owns her own diner, what do you do?”

“I just got my Ph.D. in History—”

“You’re old enough to have a Ph.D.?” Clarke’s eyebrows shoot towards her hairline and he can’t help but chuckle.

“I’m twenty-six, Clarke.”

Her lips make a surprised _o_ and he smirks. “You seem younger.”

“Are you saying I don’t act my age?” He furrows his brows together and tries to look upset which makes her laugh.

“No, not at all. You look good for an old man.” She teases and Bellamy can feel himself grin. “I’m twenty-one, I turn twenty-two in June.”

 _That_ nearly makes him loose focus on the road. He knew she was young, but twenty-one? _And she seems to be single…with a kid_. _But then again, Octavia had August at nineteen…but she was married._

“Octavia just turned twenty-one a month ago.”

“So, she had August young too.”

“Yeah, but Lincoln had already asked her to marry him before they even found out. Way too fast, and way too early for me to really be okay with it, but they’re great together.”

Bellamy can see Clarke smile out the corner of his eye, but it seems kind of sad. Suddenly, he’s regretting bringing it up. “So, Ph.D. in history, what do you do?”

He tells her about being an instructor at the university in Arkadia, and how he focuses on Europe and why he went into history in the first place. When he finishes, he asks her about what she loves doing and about Madi, and he loves the smile she gets on her face as she talks about her daughter. He really wants to ask where Madi’s father is, but he knows that nothing good could possibly come out of that. Luckily, she answers it for him without him having to ask.

“So, I told you that I met Raven three years ago, but what I didn’t tell you was how we met.” Clarke starts tapping her fingers on her knee again and he wonders if it’s a nervous habit. “So, I moved to Arkadia after I graduated high school, you know, wanting to get settled in a familiar with the city before I had to start college. Things were great, I had a nice place to live, then I ended up meeting Finn.” Bellamy can hear a shift in her voice. _She’s getting angry_. “Things were great, we had fun together, I thought that it would last a while. Then, I got pregnant.” Clarke sighs and Bellamy doesn’t say anything.

“I got pregnant, and I was happy. I was young, I had just started college, and it was _definitely_ not the path my mother would have chose for me, but I was excited; and nervous. So nervous in fact that I pushed off telling Finn for like a month, he was terrified, and then a week later found out that I was the ‘other woman’ in his relationship with Raven.”

Bellamy thinks back to the night he had met Raven. She had been drinking at the bar when he showed up with Murphy and he struck up a conversation with her. That was during the time when he was out looking to get laid pretty much every weekend, and he figured out that the reason why she was looking to get plastered was because she found out her boyfriend had been cheating on her. The time the two of them spent together was fun, he enjoyed it, but in the end they both knew that it was going to be a one night kind of thing. He never would have guessed he would be riding in the car with the girl who was inadvertently involved in Raven being at the bar that night.

“We both dumped him and he ran off. I thought he would at least stick around for his daughter, but he left and at some point Raven and I talked to each other and decided to move in together.” Bellamy’s hands had gripped the steering wheel tighter without him realizing it.

“Then he wasn’t really a man.” Bellamy’s voice is low and he thinks to how he would’ve felt if Lincoln had left Octavia. He’s only known Clarke for half an hour but he’s angry for her. “No man would leave his pregnant girlfriend and soon-to-be child.”

“You’d be surprised.” Clarke snorts and it makes Bellamy wonder if she’s known people who’ve gone through the same thing.

The conversation shifts and they talk about Arkadia for a little bit and at some point Clarke turns around in her seat and Bellamy can see her press the back of her hand against a sleeping Madi’s forehead. Madi hadn’t seemed sick earlier when he first met her, so he wonders what’s wrong. Clarke tells him that Madi had been feeling bad this morning when they left her mother’s house and just wants to get back so she can put her to bed. When Clarke rights herself in her seat, Bellamy can see her eyes begin to droop even more and before long, she’s asleep.

They don’t have much longer until they pull up at her house, and Bellamy begins wondering if he should give her his number. Talking to her during the car ride has made him realize that he really likes talking to her, and he kind of wishes that their time together didn’t have to come to an end. When he pulls into her driveway, he shakes her shoulder lightly and she jerks awake. She stretches and yawns before hopping out of his trunk and trying to get Madi out of the car seat.

“Come on, Madi, time to go inside.”

“Nuh-uh.” Madi groans and turns her head to the side, her eyes still closed.

“Madi, baby, let’s get in bed.”

“No.” Madi keeps her eyes closed and she pouts. Bellamy watches as Clarke sighs then grabs her duffle bag.

“Can you watch her for a second while I bring this inside?”

“Yeah, sure.” He watches her turn to head inside before he climbs into the back seat. “Hey, Madi, let’s get you into your bed, okay?” He rubs her arm and she opens her eyes. “Do you want to go inside?” Madi nods her head and Bellamy pulls her out of the car seat. She immediately lays her head on his shoulder and wraps her arms around his neck as he closes the door and makes his way into the house.

When he walks in, he’s in awe at how nice her house looks. Despite having a kid, it’s pretty clean. Clarke turns as he reaches the living room and a look of surprise flashes across her face. “I thought I’d try to help. Is there somewhere you want me to put her down?”

“Uh, yeah, her room is the first one on the right.” She points towards the hall and he nods.

He pushes into the room and smiles at how messy it is. There’s drawings on the wall, coloring books spread across the floor, clothes, shoes, but he navigates his way through all of it as he sets her down on her bed and pulls the covers over her. She’s out like a light. When Bellamy makes it out of her room, he sees Clarke in the kitchen and stops in front of the counter.

“I think she’s going to be out for a little while.”

“Thank you, for everything. She—” Clarke breaks off to yawn and he remembers that she must be exhausted. “—she can be difficult.”

 _Like someone else I know._ “Octavia was a very difficult kid.” He chuckles. “Come to think of it, she’s a difficult adult too.” He notices her head starting to droop along with her eyelids and he knows he should probably get going so she can sleep while her daughter naps. But he doesn’t want to leave.

“You seem tired, I should go.” Bellamy shoves his hands into his pockets. “Or I can stay until Raven gets back, just in case Madi wakes up.”

“No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already done enough, Bellamy.” Her phone starts ringing and a look of panic crosses her face as she fishes it out of her pocket. He turns towards the hallway, but he doesn’t think Madi heard it. “Hey, Raven.”

 _I should go_. Bellamy points towards the door, opting for it to be a quick exit, but Clarke shakes her head and grabs his sleeve. _She’s got a good grip for someone her size_. It makes him want to laugh. He looks around the house, trying to make it seem like he’s not listening to their conversation, but when he hears Clarke sigh he looks back at her and she’s holding her phone out to him. His eyebrows knit together in confusion but he takes the phone from her.

“Raven?”

“Bellamy Blake.” Despite not having seen Raven in years, he’s pretty sure she’s smirking on the other end of the line. “I need you to do me a favor and stay at the house until I can get back. I can’t leave yet but Clarke needs some rest.”

“You really want me to?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Besides, you find her attractive, don’t you?” Bellamy’s eyes flick towards Clarke’s and he can see her trying to figure out what’s being said.

“Well, yeah but I don’t—”

“Perfect, then I expect you to be there when I get back and I don’t want any argument.”

“—okay.” _What does me finding Clarke attractive have to do with me staying?_

“But if you leave before I can get back there and I find out that you left my exhausted best friend I’m going to make your life hell, Blake. You hear me? Watch her, or else.”

“Yeah, Raven I hear you.”

“Good, because I’d hate to have to track you down.”

“Don’t worry about it, Reyes.” Bellamy hangs up the phone and laughs. “She hasn’t changed.” She’s still the same person he met back then, always in control with no room for questioning her.

“Nope, she definitely hasn’t changed in the years I’ve known her,” Clarke laughs and agrees. “What did she say?”

“She, uh, well,” Bellamy rubs the back of his neck, “she told me to stay here and help you ‘or else’.”

Clarke’s cheeks turn red. “’Or else’?” she starts laughing. “Well, there’s no fighting her. Anything in particular you like to watch?” She leads him towards the living room and collapses onto the couch.

“I like watching the history channel.” Bellamy smiles before sitting down on the loveseat. He can see Clarke smile too.

“Of course, you do, Mr. History Major.” She teases as she passes the remote over to him. “You’re the guest.” He takes the remote from her and starts flipping through the channels, knowing that she’s probably going to fall asleep soon.

He turns out be right once he settles on a T.V. show then turns to look at her. Her hair is fanned out over the couch pillow she’s resting her head on and her hand is tucked under it. She looks peaceful while she sleeps, even a little younger, but he can still see the exhaustion etched into her face. He decides to walk back towards the front door and lock it before taking his shoes off and settling back into his spot.

Bellamy had wanted to spend more time with her, and now he’s staying in her house, but he’s not exactly spending time with her if she’s sleep. Though he doesn’t mind. He knows how hard it can be to take care of a child by yourself, even if you do have help, and that’s what he wants to do for her. Help her. He has enough time to finish the documentary and get halfway into another one before he hears a door open and then Madi’s feet slapping against the hardwood floors.

She’s carrying her blanket over her shoulder and sucking her thumb. When she sees Bellamy she smiles and runs towards him, trying to get up on the couch. He chuckles then picks her up and she immediately settles into the space beside him, curling into a ball and falling back asleep. He looks over at Clarke whose kind of curled into a ball too and he smiles. _Like mother like daughter_.

At some point, he falls asleep too but he stirs when there’s a knock on the door. He wakes up and looks over at Madi, but she’s just as asleep as her mother is. He walks towards the front door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before opening it. There’s a delivery guy there with a few bags of groceries and he hands a pad over for Bellamy to sign before handing off the bags and telling him to have a good day.

Now, Bellamy doesn’t know where anything is in Clarke’s house, but he’s determined to put the food away so he does his best to try and figure it out. It takes him a little longer than he expected to get everything put up, but it’s not like he could’ve just left her groceries on the counter. When he finishes putting the pasta up, his phone begins ringing and a number he doesn’t know pops up on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Blake, things are running over here so I’m going to need you to stay a little longer.” Bellamy turns towards the clock on the microwave and sees that it’s 6:30. _Well, I don’t have anywhere else to be_.

“Alright, that’s cool with me.”

“I bet it is.” He can practically hear the smirk in her voice. “Take care of my girls.”

“I will, Raven, don’t worry.” He can hear her chuckle on the other end before they hang up. He runs his fingers through his hair and his stomach rumbles. _Damn, I’m hungry_.

“Bell?” Madi’s voice calls for him from where she had been sleeping and looks over at her. She’s sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her hair sticking in every direction possible. “Mama’s sleepy and I hungry.”

Bellamy smiles then walks over to the couch, picking Madi up. “I’m hungry too, little one.” He turns and heads back towards the kitchen. “Want to be my helper while I make dinner? Do you want spaghetti?”

Madi nods her head enthusiastically and he grins before opening one of the cabinets. He points at the ingredients they need and Madi grabs them, her smile never leaving her face. He lets her help him measure out the water that they need, and helps her break the noodles in half before they put them in the water. She helps him season the meat but he makes sure she’s far enough back when he puts the meat into the pan. All the while, she talks to him about her stuffed animals and how she likes to draw, and she even talks about how happy her mom is going to be that they made dinner. During all of it, Bellamy is pretty sure his smile never leaves his face.

When the food is done, he asks Madi if they should wake up Clarke but she shakes her head no and says “mama is sleepy.” So, he makes her a bowl and gets her set up at her little table before he fixes himself his own bowl and joins her. He feels bad for not waking Clarke up, but Madi was right, Clarke was sleepy. She was exhausted.

After they eat and the dishes are done, Madi insists on Bellamy telling her a story so he goes out to his truck and gets his worn copy of _Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece_ and she takes up her spot next to him again on the sofa while he reads. He takes to acting out some of the scenes and he loves when she laughs at them.

“Mama!” Madi’s eyes go wide and her smile is even wider as she slides off the sofa and heads towards Clarke. Bellamy watches as Clarke wraps her up in her arms and smiles.

“Hey, munchkin. Feeling better?” Madi nods her head and Bellamy is glad that she hadn’t had a fever when she woke up earlier. “Are the two of you reading a book?”

“ _Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece_ , I had it out in my truck.” Bellamy holds up the book and smiles. “We didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thank you, that’s sweet.” Clarke smiles at him. “I’m surprised Raven hasn’t gotten back yet, I’m sorry if we’re keeping you from your plans.”

Bellamy tells her about Raven calling and that he didn’t have any plans to get to. When he tells her that he made dinner she looks shocked and it makes him smirk.

“You made dinner?”

“We both did.” He looks over at Madi who beams up at her mother. “But don’t worry, we made sure to do the dishes too.” He can’t be certain, but it kind of looks like Clarke is going to start tearing up and it rips at his heart.

“Well you’ve been busy while I was asleep, haven’t you?” Clarke teases her daughter and starts tickling her, and Bellamy can’t help but smile at the sight. “You really didn’t have to do that.” Clarke looks over at him and he shrugs.

“It was no problem, really. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good cooking partner.” Bellamy winks at Madi and she grins at him.

“Well, I’d like to taste this dinner.” Clarke looks at Madi and her daughter jumps off the couch, dragging her towards the kitchen.

Clarke must’ve been hungry, because she practically inhales the spaghetti she put onto her bowl. He realizes that she must not have eaten much and after the scare she had and carrying around that heavy duffle bag, he’s not surprised at her appetite. “Well, that’s better than what Raven or I can do.” Clarke smiles as she finishes off her bowl and Bellamy has to keep himself from laughing. There’s spaghetti sauce on her face and now he knows where Madi gets it from, but he doesn’t say anything when he takes her plate and hands her a napkin.

When Madi yawns, Clarke picks her up and asks if she’s tired. Bellamy is about to go to work on cleaning Clarke’s plate and fork when he hears Madi call for him. He puts them down and dries off his hands before walking over to her.

“Goodnight, little one.” He gives Madi a smile and she gives him a sleep one in return. Clarke motions for him to follow her and he helps her put Madi to bed. Seeing Clarke and Madi together makes his heart do a little flip because he can tell how much Clarke loves her daughter and he can tell that Madi adores her mother. Even though Finn had left, the two of them have each other and he knows Clarke is an amazing mom.

When they reach the hallway and Madi’s door is closed, Clarke heads back towards the living room.

“You’re really good with her.”

“Years of practice,” Bellamy admits. “First with O, now my nephew…” he smiles and rubs the back of his neck. No one has ever really complimented him on that before. “She’s a good kid, you should be proud.”

“Yeah, she is. I am. But some days…” Clarke trails off and Bellamy can see a look on her face that he’s all too familiar with.

“Some days you wonder if you’re actually doing the right thing. Making the right choices?” Bellamy went through that so much with Octavia, he didn’t know what he was doing. He was only a kid.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“I had thoughts like that all the time with O, it’s a lot of trial and error and hoping they don’t make the same mistakes that you did.” He looks into her eyes and he can see how scared she is. At least he had had his mother who would help from time to time, and Clarke does have Raven, but that doesn’t make you any less terrified. “But I know that Madi is going to be amazing.”

Clarke gives him a lopsided smile and he’s happy that she doesn’t look so sad anymore. “Oh yeah, and how do you know that?”

“Because she’s got you for a mom.” She blushes. He hadn’t meant to come out and say it like that but, well, it was true. Clarke was an amazing mother from what he could see in just the few hours he’s known her, despite the little incident in the airport, and he wanted her to know that.

“Please, I’m a mess.” Clarke breaks away from his gaze and looks down at the floor. “I lost her earlier today. I couldn’t calm her down when she was screaming. I was so tired.” Her voice breaks and something inside Bellamy breaks too.

“Clarke,” he reaches out and places his hands on her shoulders, urging her to look at him, “the only thing parents can do is their best, and that’s what you’re doing. Not all days are going to be good, you’re going to be exhausted, you’re going to want to cry, you’re going to get upset, and that’s okay. No one is perfect, but you’re _trying_ and that’s all you can do.”

A few tears slip down her face but she gives him a weak smile. “Thank you.” He nods his head and lets his hands slip from her shoulders. “Octavia must be a force to be reckoned with if you raised her.”

At that thought, Bellamy smiles. “Yeah, she’s something.”

“Clarke!” Raven’s voice carries through the house and Bellamy is snapped out of whatever moment he and Clarke had been having. “Clarke, is Bellamy still—hey, Blake.” Raven smirks as she looks between the two of them and Bellamy has to keep himself from blushing.

“Hey, Raven.” Bellamy nods his head.

“You stayed late.” Raven arches an eyebrow at him.

“Well, you did threaten me.” Bellamy points out and crosses his arms.

“Uh-huh, are you sure there was nothing…” Raven tilts her head to the side and Bellamy can feel his face begin to heat up.

“Raven, how’s the project going?” Clarke interjects and Bellamy has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. _Nice way to change the topic_.

“Oh god, _Sinclair_ …” the conversation turns into a rant as Raven goes on about her project and Bellamy can’t help himself as smirks down at Clarke who only shrugs.

They listen to Raven rant about whoever Sinclair is and the project she’s working on for a while before Bellamy realizes how late it’s gotten. He leans down and whispers in Clarke’s ear, hoping Raven doesn’t notice him talking during her rant. Clarke looks at him for a second, confused, but pulls it out of her pocket and hands it to him. He puts his phone number into it then hands it back to her.

“If you’re ever in need of a good night’s sleep again.” Bellamy winks and she smiles, her face turning slightly pink.

“I might have to take you up on that offer.” Bellamy smiles. _She’s flirting back_.

He tells Raven he’s heading out and they tell each other bye before Clarke offers to walk him out. He doesn’t want to leave, but he knows that there’s a chance he’ll see her again since he gave her his number.

“Thank you, for everything today. Madi really likes you.”

“She’s a good kid, and her mom is great.” Bellamy is rewarded with another blush from Clarke and smiles, ducking his head. Making her blush is something he wants to do a lot because she looks so cute when she does.

“I enjoyed today. You’re not bad for a stranger at an airport.” She teases and Bellamy can feel his heart stutter when she smiles. _She really is beautiful_. Suddenly, he has the urge to kiss her.

“Neither are you.” He smiles and this time she ducks her head. He wants to keep talking to her, but he knows that she’s probably tired, despite her nap, and she probably wants to talk to Raven. “I should probably get going.” It pains him to say it, but it’s true.

“You’re right, it’s late.” Clarke takes a step back from him and he instantly feels like something has been ripped from him. Which is strange, considering he barely knows her. He nods and then goes down the steps, heading towards his truck before he turns around to look at her.

“I was serious about my offer. Anytime.” Clarke smiles.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He watches her as she watches him back out of her driveway and start down the road. The entire drive home, his thoughts are going a thousand miles a minute. He would have to be blind to not think Clarke is beautiful, he’s never seen anyone as stunning as her. Then there’s Madi and, if he’s being honest with himself, he already adores her and he can tell she takes after her mom. _Maybe Clarke will text me_.

As he nears his house, he starts going over the possibility of Clarke texting him and how that could go. He knows from his own experience with his mom dating people that it’s a real possibility for a single parent to start dating only to have the person leave and then the parent, along with their child, have to deal with it. So, if he’s going to be with Clarke, then he knows that there’s a good chance of Madi becoming attached to him. _If she even wants to_ , he reminds himself.

When he pulls into the driveway, he can see the light is on in the living room so when he walks through the door and Miller calls for him, he’s not surprised.

“You were gone for a long time.” Miller calls from his place on the couch and Bellamy shrugs out of his jacket.

“Yeah, something came up.”

“Some _thing_ or some _one_?” Miller cocks an eyebrow at Bellamy and before Bellamy can respond, he grins. “So it was a some _one._ ”

“It wasn’t like that, Miller.” Bellamy huffs before heading to the kitchen.

“You dropped Sterling off _hours_ ago, Blake, only a girl could make you stay out this long.” Miller follows him and leans against the counter. “So? Who is she? Where’d you meet her?”

Bellamy shoots his friend a glare. “God, you’re worse than Octavia.” Miller doesn’t budge. “Fine!” Bellamy throws his hands up in the air in surrender before grabbing a bottle of water out of the cabinet. “I met her at the airport. Her kid got lost and I helped her find her mom.”

“Keep going, still need to know why you were gone for so long.” Miller does a rolling motion with his fingers and Bellamy wonders what would happen if he hit him with the water bottle.

“Her friend was late picking her up so I gave her a ride home,” Bellamy shrugs.

“She actually took a ride from you? She doesn’t even know you!”

“Well, her friend turned out to be a girl I knew,” Bellamy gives Miller a pointed look and he can see when his friend puts two and two together and nods. “Raven told her that she was okay with it, so I brought her home, then Raven asked me to stay since she was stuck working on a project and Clarke needed sleep. That’s it.”

“Uh-huh. What’s her name? What does she look like?” Miller pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“What are you going all detective on her? She’s a single mom and I helped her out. That’s all.” Now it’s Miller’s turn to give him a look and Bellamy rolls his eyes. “Clarke Griffin. Blonde hair, blue eyes.”

Miller taps a few things on his screen before turning it around to show Bellamy. “This her?”

Clarke’s Facebook profile looks back at him and Bellamy can feel himself smile. Her profile picture is of her and Madi with paint on their faces and her header is of the two of them at the beach in front of the sunset. The pictures remind him of the paint under Clarke’s nails and all of the drawings hanging up in Madi’s room.

“Huh.” Bellamy tears his eyes away from the screen and looks over at Miller.

“What?”

“Nothin’.” Miller shakes his head and locks his phone, putting it back in his pocket. “It’s just interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” Bellamy crosses his arms over his chest and looks at his friend.

“You just seem like you like being around them, that’s all.” Miller shrugs then reaches across the counter to steal his water bottle. “Let me know when you take her out on a date.” Miller grins and Bellamy tries to snatch his bottle back.

“I don’t know if there will be a date.” Bellamy admits. He’d like for there to be, but he can see where she wouldn’t.

“Why not?”

“She’s a single mother, Miller, and she has a daughter to think about. I gave her my number so it’s up to her.”

“She’ll text you man, don’t worry.” Miller gives him a reassuring smile. “But I should point out, she’s too good looking for you.” Miller teases and Bellamy picks up a towel to throw it at him.

“I’m going to sleep.”

Bellamy makes his way to his room and starts getting ready for bed. He knows that he shouldn’t be too disappointed if she doesn’t text him, he did assume that her not texting was a possibility, but some part of him keeps telling him that he doesn’t need to worry. He’d love to see her again. She’s funny and she’s beautiful, and despite having only been around her for a few hours, he thinks she’s amazing. And Madi is hard not to love instantly.

As he’s getting into bed, he plugs his phone up and then tries to get comfortable. His mind keeps drifting back to their car ride and him and Madi making dinner, and him giving Clarke a pep talk… _how could two girls make such an impression?_ He rolls over onto his back and stares up at the ceiling when his phone goes off. His heart rate spikes and he reaches over to pick it up.

 

**Unknown Number**

_Hey, would you like to get lunch sometime?_

Bellamy smiles. _Clarke._ He wastes no time replying.

 **Bellamy:** Are you and Madi free tomorrow?

 **Clarke:** Yeah, we’re both on break. How about noon?

 **Bellamy:** I’ll pick you both up then, I know a diner I think you would both like.

 **Clarke:** Sounds good! Goodnight, Bellamy :)

 **Bellamy:** Goodnight, Clarke :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy takes Clarke and Madi out for lunch and then a movie night :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The responses to the first chapter blew me away so here’s chapter two! I hope you enjoy reading Bellamy’s POV as much as I love writing it :)
> 
> And I’m sorry for the late update! I didn't get as much time to write as I usually do
> 
> I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes!

When Bellamy wakes up the next morning, he’s kind of shocked at just exactly how excited he is to bring Clarke and Madi out to Octavia’s diner today, which is something Miller picks up on when he walks into the kitchen.

“She texted you back, didn’t she?” Miller arches an eyebrow at Bellamy as he makes his way towards the fridge.

“What makes you say that?” Bellamy tries to act like he’s not sure what Miller is referring to, and to hide his smile he sips on his coffee.

“Because,” Miller turns around and closes the door with his foot. “You’re way too happy for how early it is and you’re smiling. You never smile before you’ve had breakfast.”

“I could’ve just woken up on the right side of the bed this morning.” Bellamy shrugs then turns around, busying himself with getting some cereal.

“Which would mean you wake up on the wrong side of the bed every other day. So,” Miller puts down the milk and looks at him, “the only other explanation is that she texted you and now you’re going on a date.”

“Yes, okay, she texted me and I’m going to take her and Madi out to lunch today at Octavia’s diner.” Bellamy reaches over and takes the milk from next to Miller so he can cover his cereal.

“You’re really excited.” Miller grins.

“Yeah, I’m excited, and I’m kind of nervous.” Bellamy sighs. “Is that weird? I’ve been on dates before but now I’m nervous.”

“Nah, man, being nervous about taking someone you like out isn’t weird.” Miller shrugs. “You’ll knock her off her feet, don’t worry.” Miller gives him a reassuring smile before taking the milk back.

“Yeah, well, I hope so.” Bellamy chuckles a little then picks up his bowl. “I’m going to go eat before I have to get ready.”

Bellamy makes his way back up to his room and he knows that as soon as he leaves the kitchen Miller texts everyone to tell them that he’s finally going on an actual date, and that’s just further proved when his phone starts going off as soon as he sits down on his bed. The first text is from Octavia, wondering why she wasn’t told about it, then Murphy chimes in that he’s glad Bellamy is finally getting some action, then Harper says that she’s excited to meet her since she’s working at the diner today.

Eventually, Bellamy just tells them that he’s just bringing Clarke and Madi out for lunch and that everyone needs to calm down before he puts his phone on silent and goes to take a shower. He can’t get rid of the buzz of excitement still coursing through his veins and he wonders if he should try and workout or something before heads over there, but he did just shower so he decides he’ll be fine.

When he pulls into her driveway he’s a big ball of nerves but he hopes that he doesn’t seem that way. He takes a few deep breaths before getting out of his truck and making his way to her front door and ringing the doorbell. He can hear the sound of Madi’s little feet hitting the hardwood and Clarke’s heavier and slower steps behind her. When Clarke opens the door, Bellamy doesn’t have much time to think before Madi is jumping at him.

“Bell!” She grins up at him and he can’t help but smile back.

“Hello, little one.” He picks her up before turning to look at Clarke. She’s grinning at the two of them and he notices the tiara that’s perched on top of her head. He smirks. “Hello, Princess.”

“Mommy’s a princess.”

“I can see that.” Bellamy smiles at Clarke and, he has to admit, he thinks she looks like Rapunzel. Clarke blushes and his grin widens. “Sorry, I know I’m a little early.”

“It’s fine, Madi kept asking when you were going to get here.” Clarke opens the door wider then bends down to pick up Madi’s shoes. “We just have to get these on and then we’ll be good to go.” Bellamy sets Madi down and watches as Clarke slips her shoes on and grabs her things.

“Got everything?” Bellamy is ready to get on the road because he’s excited for her to see Octavia’s diner, and get to spend more time with the two of them.

“Ready when you are, Mr. Blake.” The way she calls him stirs something in him but he only smirks. _I could get used to that._

The ride to the diner consists of Madi chatting away in the back seat talking about what they did that morning and Bellamy is pretty sure his smile doesn’t leave his face once. In turn, Clarke asks Bellamy what he did and he tells her he slept in then ate some cereal before getting ready. He admits that it wasn’t nearly as exciting as their morning was.

As soon as they walk into the diner, Clarke and Madi both immediately start looking around the place, taking it all in, and Bellamy notices Octavia and Harper near the kitchen. Their eyes widen as they catch sight of him with Clarke and Madi and Octavia sends Harper towards them as Bellamy guides Clarke and Madi towards a table.

“I’m surprised I’ve never been here before.” Clarke is still looking around the restaurant and he has to keep himself from chuckling at Madi’s attempts to grab at the hanging leaves.

“Well, it’s only been open for about a year.” Bellamy shrugs.

“But it seems like a lot of people know about it.” Clarke turns to look at him but before he can speak, Harper shows up.

“People come for the food and stay for the atmosphere.” Harper lays out some crayons and pieces of paper for Madi to draw on. “Hi, I’m Harper and I’ll be your waitress today. Can I get you anything to drink?” She looks at Clarke, who orders for her and Madi, before turning back to Bellamy. “Same thing as usual, Bellamy?”

“Of course.” Bellamy smiles at Harper and he doesn’t miss the thumbs up she gives him before she walks away, though, thankfully, Clarke didn’t seem to have noticed. When he looks at her, there’s a slight frown on her face and he wonders if it’s because of how he smiled at Harper. “That’s Harper, she’s Octavia’s friend.” Clarke’s eyes come up to meet his and she seems sort of surprised. _So that was it_.

“She seems nice.”

“Yeah, she is. Just don’t get on her bad side.” Bellamy teases and he’s reminded of the time Harper thought it’d be funny to toilet paper his house because he said that she was too innocent to have done anything illegal in her life.

“Why? Speaking from experience?” Clarke tilts her head to the side and raises an eyebrow at him, making him smirk.

“Once or twice.”

”Alright, latté, apple juice, cup of black poison you call coffee.” Harper jokes, wrinkling her nose at Bellamy’s cup. “Do you know what y’all would like to eat or do you need a couple of minutes?” 

Bellamy knows that Clarke hasn’t looked at the menu yet so he tells Harper that they still need a few minutes and she nods her head before telling Clarke that Bellamy is like Hermes, then winks and leaves to tend to her other tables.

“Hermès? Like from Greek mythology?” Bellamy doesn’t say anything but he notices when Clarke puts the Hermes joke and the name of the diner together.

“Yeah, she’s just trying to scare you. I’m not _that_ bad.” Bellamy grins.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Clarke smirks before taking a sip of her drink and then picking up the menu again. “So, what’s good here?”

They talk through the menu and all come to a decision, after a little arguing on Madi’s part, and Bellamy isn’t surprised when Octavia is the one to come to their table to get their order. It’s like he could sense her looking at them before he even heard her footsteps.

“Don’t you get tired of eating the same thing over, and over, and _over_ again, Bell?” Octavia tries to go for annoyed, but Bellamy gives her the sweetest smile he possibly can while she glares at him.

“Maybe I just like seeing your smiling face.” It almost sounds like Clarke snorts but covers it up with a cough, then Octavia’s glare turns into a smile as she leans over to hug him.

“I like seeing your face too, big brother, even if it makes me nauseous from time to time.” Octavia turns her attention towards Clarke and Madi. “I’m Octavia, or ‘Little Blake’ as some people like to put it.” The two of them shake hands.

“I’m Clarke and this is my daughter Madi. Madi, can you say hi to Octavia?” Bellamy smiles at Clarke and Madi and he thinks its adorable how shy she is, hiding behind Clarke’s arm. Octavia can be intimidating when she wants to be, but she’s also a really big softie when it comes to little kids.

“O is fine, it might be easier.” Octavia bends down and leans forward, holding out a white lily that had been tucked behind one of her ears and holds it out for the little girl. “Hi, Madi, I’m O.”

“O.” Madi gives Octavia a small smile before reaching out and taking the flower. She seems to relax a little because she moves away from Clarke’s arm a little more and Bellamy can see Octavia’s smile brighten.

After a little back and forth with Octavia about how she shouldn’t have to fill in for her employees who just decide not to show up, she takes their orders then disappears into the back. Bellamy loves the food at his sister’s diner and he can only hope that Clarke feels the same way. Before long, Harper brings the food out and tells them to enjoy, but Bellamy is pretty sure she and Octavia are watching them closely.

“So, did you catch up on your sleep last night? I know I left kind of late.” Bellamy says between bites and Clarke nods her head.

“Yeah, definitely. The nap and then the next seven hours I got were amazing.” She gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks for staying so long.”

“Like I said, anytime.” He winks and loves it when she blushes.

Madi chatters away about the flower and how she loves it and then takes to drawing between eating her food. Clarke tells him that she thinks Madi may have just had a little bug because she seems fine now, then she changes the topic to how Octavia chose the Greek theme for the restaurant. Now it’s Bellamy’s turn to blush.

“I was a huge mythology geek growing up and I took to telling Octavia the stories I read. I think I kind of rubbed off on her.”

“Well I think that was the best thing that could’ve happened.” Clarke smiles then borrows one of Madi’s colors and a piece of paper. “Do you have a favorite myth?”

“Oh, that ones hard.” Bellamy leans back in his chair and runs his fingers through his hair.

“I loved the _Hercules_ movie when I was growing up,” Clarke explains and Bellamy is pretty sure he can see her drawing hooves.

“Bell!” Bellamy looks over at Madi who is holding out a picture she just finished drawing. It has the white lily on it along with what he assumes is supposed to be the vines hanging all around the diner.

“It’s beautiful, Madi, is it for me?” Madi nods her head and Bellamy can feel his smile get wider. “Thank you.”

“Good job, Madi!” Clarke gives her daughter a kiss on the top of her head and Madi giggles. “My little artist.”

“Just like mama.” Madi declares happily and Clarke smiles.

“Just like mama.”

The rest of their lunch goes by pretty much the same. Madi draws another picture of flowers while picking at her blue berries and towards the end Clarke hands Bellamy a picture of Phil from _Hercules_ and Bellamy laughs. He’s going to keep all of the pictures they’ve drawn today. When Harper brings the check it’s set to zero as the balance and Bellamy explains that Octavia never has him pay but he always makes sure to leave a big tip anyways. He’s not surprised when Clarke pulls out her wallet to do the same.

“Thank you for bringing us here, we really enjoyed it.”

“I’m glad, I was kind of nervous you wouldn’t like it.” Bellamy admits and runs his hand over the back of his neck. Clarke, and Madi, liking the food at Octavia’s diner was a big deal.

“Good food, good company, what’s not to like?” She gives him a sweet smile and Bellamy blushes.

“Heading out?” Octavia shows up at the side of their table again, looking a little more worn out than she had earlier. Bellamy looks around the diner and can see a line of people starting to form.

“Yeah, you’re getting busy. Do you need me to come back and help out?” When Octavia had first opened her diner, she didn’t have much help when it came to taking care of her customers so Bellamy spent a lot of time helping during the first few months.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Bellamy, I’m not going to let you leave your date because I’m understaffed.” Octavia says, crossing her arms. “I called in reinforcements, don’t worry.”

”Reinforcements as in—“

”Monty, Jasper, Atom, and Luna? Yeah.” Octavia sighs and look at all of her customers. “ _Open a diner_ , you said,  _it’ll_   _be fun_ , you said.” 

Bellamy places his hands on his little sister’s shoulders. “O, look at me, you’re doing  _great_.” Octavia gives her brother an appreciative smile. 

“We loved the food, it was definitely better than any other place I’ve eaten.” Clarke admits, smiling.

“Well I’ll pass your compliments on to the chef, I’m sure Murphy could do with the good news. He hates days like these.” Octavia looks around at her customers again and Clarke’s face makes a surprised _o_.

“Tell him Clarke says hi.” She smirks and Bellamy cocks his head to the side, curious.

“You know John Murphy?”

Clarke explains that she’s pretty sure he and Raven had something going on at one point but she hasn’t seen him a while. Octavia laughs and says that she’ll pass on her message before they all say bye. When Clarke heads towards the door with Madi, Octavia slaps Bellamy on the chest and mouths _oh my god_. He swats his sister away before catching up with Clarke at the door, and Madi ends up taking both his and Clarke’s hands so they can swing her between them.

“It’s a beautiful day outside.” Clarke looks up at the sky and he can’t help but agree. _Maybe this doesn’t have to end yet…_

“Yeah, it is. Do you want to go to the park? Or—”

“Park!” Madi practically screams and it makes Bellamy grin.

“You read my mind.”

They go to the park that’s right off campus and surrounded by one of the university lakes. He usually runs along here when the temperature isn’t so stifling and he’s come with Octavia and August a few times. Bellamy is pretty sure it’s one of his favorite places. Well, when it isn’t so hot. They decide to sit at an empty picnic table under one of the trees and Madi immediately goes for the little patch of flowers a couple of feet from them.

Madi gets up and hands him a fist full of dandelions and he smiles before tucking one into his hair. He asks Clarke if she’s ready for the summer and she tells him that she can’t wait because then she’ll get to spend more time with Madi, and he can’t help but remember what it was like for him when he was younger. He loved getting to teach Octavia the things he had learned in class whenever they both got home from school, but getting to spend the summers with her and exploring around their town. Clarke also explains that everything has kind of fallen by the wayside since Madi’s been born, but he knows that she’ll get to wherever she wants to be in life. That’s just the kind of person she is.

“So, any big plans for your summer break? Any vacations?” Clarke asks while she begins working on a flower crown.

“Well, I’ve been wanting to go to the Smithsonian museums for a while, but every summer something always comes up.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I’ve wanted to go since I was a kid.”

“Well, that’s where my mom lives.” She looks up at him and he’s momentarily stunned by how blue her eyes look. “If you want I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you staying at her place and then I could show you around the city.”

“You’d do that?” Bellamy’s eyebrows nearly reach is hairline. _She’s already bringing up meeting her mom? I mean…not in that context, but still._

“Oh, um…” Clarke looks down at the flowers in her hands and blushes. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about what that could’ve meant.”

“Hey, it’s cool.” He reaches out and brushes his thumb across her bare knee which causes her to look up at him. “I’d love to get a tour of D.C. from you.” He smiles and she blushes even deeper.

“Well, it’s good to know I didn’t scare you off with that.” She gives a light laugh and it makes his heart flip.

“You can’t scare me away that easily.” He grins at her and she laughs a little harder. If that’s not the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard, then he doesn’t know what is.

They talk about what their plans are for after college, which Bellamy says he’d like to become a tenured professor now that he has his Ph.D. and Clarke says she’d like to be an art teacher, or to own her own gallery one day. They talk until Clarke finishes her flower crown and Madi goes from playing with the grass to wandering over to the swing set. When Clarke gets up to follow her, she places her flower crown in Bellamy’s hair and he gives her a lopsided grin. Who knew a girl giving him a flower crown could make him feel so giddy inside?

He gets up to follow them and by the time he reaches the two of them, Clarke has Madi in one of the baby seats and Madi is begging to go higher. Clarke laughs and pushes a little harder which makes her daughter giggle and Bellamy is pretty sure he’s about to die from the adorableness.

“Here, let me push you.” Bellamy walks over to the empty swing and smiles at Clarke.

“You want to push me? But I’m too big to be pushed on the swing.” Clarke visibly pouts and it makes Bellamy’s smile widen.

“Whoever said there’s an age limit on being pushed on the swing was lying. Come get on.” He grins and Clarke looks between him and her daughter for a second before jumping towards the empty swing.

Bellamy pulls her back and lets her go in time to push Madi to keep her swinging too. He pushes Clarke higher and higher and eventually she’s giggling just as much as her daughter and Bellamy can tell the smile never leaves his face. He can’t exactly put his finger on it, but there’s something about making Clarke, and Madi, so happy makes him feel like he’s on top of the world. Which is weird considering he’s only known her for twenty-four hours.

Eventually they stop swinging and make their way back to where they had been sitting before but it’s not long until Clarke suggests they go and get ice cream. Clarke and Bellamy had had a disagreement about chocolate or strawberry, with Bellamy explaining that nobody ever gives strawberry a solid chance, but in the end Clarke ends up getting cake batter to share with Madi and Bellamy gets chocolate to share with her since he knew that Clarke had really wanted it.

They walked and talked while they ate and Clarke asked to hear about his parents since she already knew about Octavia, Lincoln, and August. So, he tells her that his dad and Octavia’s dad had both died so growing up it was mainly him taking care of Octavia since his mom worked so much. He tells her that while it was hard most of the time, he wouldn’t have traded any of that time for anything.

In turn, he asks Clarke about her family and can tell she feels slightly uncomfortable as she tells him about her mom being a doctor and how her dad had been an engineer, but he didn’t see any reason as to why should’ve been. He knows that some people have a harder life than others, and that had been him, but it’s what you decide to do with what you’ve been given that matters. She goes on to tell him about how her father died and he can feel a deep ache in his chest, and tells her that he knows what that’s like and that he’s sorry she ever had to experience that.

It’s only when Madi comes up to Clarke yawning and rubbing her eyes at that Clarke tells him that she completely lost track of time and that it’s a little past Madi’s nap time. Even though he’s sad at the idea of bringing them back home and having to leave, he knows that he couldn’t exactly spend the _entire_ day with them, but he’s happy with the time that he did get. When they get back to Clarke’s house, she asks him to bring Madi in while she runs inside to put a pallet together in the living room.

“I had a really good time today.” Clarke whispers as he lays Madi down on the blankets and pillows.

“Me too, we should do it again sometime.” He smiles as he walks towards where she’s standing and takes a bottle of water she’s held out for him.

“Um,” Clarke bites at her lower lip for a second and plays with the water bottle in her hands, “I’m not sure what your plans are tonight but I promised Madi a Disney movie marathon and Raven is supposed to be at Zeke’s. Would you, I don’t know, maybe want to stay for that? Or come back for it?” Her eyes are wide, searching, and Bellamy feels like if she looks at him any longer she’s going to see how hard he’s having to bite down his excitement.

“I have some papers to grade but, yeah, I’d like that.” Bellamy smiles and Clarke lets out a sigh of relief, which makes his heart stutter because _damn, she really does want me here_.  “Come back in a few hours?”

“Yeah, that sounds perfect.” Clarke grins and her teeth dig into her lower lip. _Maybe she’s as excited as I am._

“Alright, well I’ll see you in a little bit.” Bellamy smiles and for a second he’s wondering if he should kiss her. Or her cheek. Or _something_ , but he hesitates and can’t seem to quit smiling.

“Yeah, see you in a little bit.” Clarke is smiling just as much as he is and he finds it hard to look away from her as he makes his way to the front door. _Lunch and a movie night? Could today have gone any better?_

Bellamy can’t stop smiling the entire ride home and he even sings along to the radio louder than he normally wood. To say he’s in a good mood would be somewhat of an understatement. He’s _ecstatic._ When he gets home, he walks through the front door whistling and before he can make his way up the stairs and to his room so he can start grading some papers, he sees three heads pop out of the kitchen doorway.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Is he broke?”

“I think he had a fun date.”

Bellamy stops whistling and turns to look at them. “You know, if you’re going to talk about someone at least make sure they can’t _hear_ you.”

“We weren’t sure you could hear anything over that loud, off-key whistling.” Jasper grins and Bellamy rolls his eyes.

“What are the three of you doing in my house?”

“I live here.” Miller holds up his hand and Bellamy groans.

“A decision I’m regretting.”

“Seriously, you seem really happy.” Monty raises his eyebrows and tilts his head to the side. “I’m guessing the date went well?”

“Please, like Harper hasn’t already texted you about it.” Bellamy looks at Monty who merely shrugs.

“She told us what happened while you were at the restaurant but no one knows what happened once you left.”

“So, how’d it go?” Jasper walks towards him and throws his arm around Bellamy’s shoulders. “Do we hear wedding bells?”

“It went great but it was just a lunch date. A little early for wedding bells, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know, that flower crown is practically begging for a veil.” Jasper teases and Bellamy reaches up to his hair. Sure enough, the flower crown that Clarke had put on him was still there.

“Yeah, yeah.” Bellamy shrugs Jasper’s arm off before starting up the stairs. “I have to get some grading done before I head back to her place, so I’m leaving.”

A chorus of _oooh’s_ follow him up the stairs and he shakes his head before pushing his way into his room. _Boys_. Once he gets settled in at his desk with his glasses and a couple of blue ink pens, he doesn’t get very far into the first paper when his phone goes off. It’s a text from Clarke and he’s a little embarrassed of how much his heart rate picks up at her name after only a day.

**Clarke Griffin**

**Clarke:**  Movie Night Rules And Regulations - pajamas are mandatory and snacks are welcomed

He barks out a laugh before responding. _Snacks are a given_.

 **Bellamy:**  Any particular snacks the Princess has in mind? 

 **Clarke:**  Anything and everything :)

 **Bellamy:**  I’ll see what I can do :)

Bellamy has to force himself to focus as he gets to work on his papers and before long, the sun is setting and he realizes that he really needs to get going soon. They hadn’t talked about a specific time that he should show up but he knows that Madi and Clarke both go to sleep relatively early, and he’d like to get a couple of movies in. He throws on his black sweats and his favorite blue Henley then slips out the front door before anyone can interrogate him about going back to Clarke’s house.

He stops at the gas station near her house and picks up an assortment of cady: m&ms, Hershey kisses, sour punch straws, reece’s, and when he’s satisfied with what he’s got he gets back in his truck and heads towards her house. He’s nervous when he rings the doorbell, like insanely nervous given the fact that he had just seen this woman a few hours ago.

Like this morning, he can hear Madi’s feet running towards the door and Clarke’s footsteps, but this time she sounds like she’s jogging towards the door too. When she opens the door, his breath catches in his throat. She’s wearing a blue sweater that makes her eyes even more stunning, and her hair is slightly damp but she looks beautiful.

“There’s my two favorite girls!” Bellamy smiles as he picks Madi up and she wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

“Your favorite, huh?” Clarke’s tone is teasing but when he realizes what exactly he’s said, Bellamy blushes. _Maybe that was a little too fast._ He hadn’t been thinking.

“I brought what you asked.” Bellamy holds up the brown paper bag, his way of changing the topic, and Clarke smiles before motioning him into the house.

He sets Madi down and the girls lead him into the living room with Madi going straight for the pile of movies that had been placed on the floor. Clarke takes the bag of candy from him and sets it on the kitchen counter while Madi decides on a movie. After Madi has gone through the stacks of movies twice, she finally holds up _Brave_ with a smile.

“Oh, my favorite.” Bellamy takes the movie from Madi and grins. It’s only when he notices Clarke looking at him out of the corner of his eye that he looks at her.

“Really?” She raises an eyebrow at him and his grin widens.

“A princess who fights for herself, who has wicked archery skills, three little bears, I mean this movie is great.” Clarke starts laughing and he tilts his head to the side, smirking. “What?”

”Nothing, I like it too.,” Clarke says between giggles, “let’s put it on.” She motions towards the DVD player and he slips the DVD in. “We’ve already eaten dinner but there’s some left over spaghetti if you want some.”

”Thank you.” Bellamy smiles then makes his way to the kitchen.

After Bellamy eats, he sits on one side of couch while Clarke sits on the other side and then Madi settles in between them. Not long after the movie starts, Madi lays out with her head in her mom’s lap and her feet propped up on Bellamy’s leg and then twenty minutes into the movie, she’s already asleep. Bellamy looks over at Clarke to see if she wants to keep Madi there and Clarke whispers ‘ _after the movie’_ , which he’s fine with. Once the movie is over, they both put her to bed like they had the day before and then Bellamy follows Clarke to the kitchen where she picks up the brown paper bag of sweets and smiles.

“ _Tangled_ and candy?”

Bellamy chuckles. “Sounds perfect.”

After Clarke switches out the DVDs, she sits closer to Bellamy now that Madi isn’t sitting between them and he takes this as his chance to rest is arm on the back of couch, close to her shoulders. It feels like something a teenager would do during his first date, which, technically he might still be on his first date? He’s not sure. What he _is_ sure about though, is that he’s nearly thirty and he feels like a kid with a crush that really wants to impress his date. It’s something he hasn’t experienced in a while. His heart is threatening to beat out of his chest and he wonders if she can hear it.

Clarke starts picking through the candy bag and he can only hope that he picked the right sweets for her. After digging around for a minute, Clarke pulls out a couple of Hershey kisses and offers him one. He takes the chocolate and smiles before popping it into his mouth. _Chocolate makes everything better_.

“So, when you were younger, what did you want to be?” Clarke asks and Bellamy loves how random it is.

“Indiana Jones.” Bellamy says it without hesitation and his heart stutters when she giggles. “Something funny, Princess?” Bellamy gives her a lopsided grin, hoping she can’t see how nervous he is.

“Nothing, it’s just I can see it.” She smiles and her giggles keep coming. _Can she really?_

“What about you? Anything you really wanted to be?”

“A singer, or an actress. I wanted to be an actress until I was in my middle school play and ended up running off stage because I got sick and being a singer, I mean, I like singing but I think I prefer it as more of a hobby than a career now.” 

“You can sing?” Bellamy raises his eyebrows and she looks at him.

“You sound surprised.” She teases and arches an eyebrow. Yep. His heart is about to beat out of his chest.

“You always surprise me.” He murmurs. The way she’s looking at him makes him feel as if he’s about to drown in her ocean blue eyes and he can’t hear anything over the pounding in his ears. “Every time I feel like I’ve figured you out, you always show me something new.” He rubs his thumb over her shoulder and she shivers, which only makes his heart race more.

“Hard to figure someone out in one day.” She whispers back. Her eyes dart towards his lips then back up to his eyes. He moves in a fraction of an inch, his eyes never leaving hers.  _It’s now or never_. Bellamy leans forward and closes the distance between the two of them.

Bellamy practically melts at the touch of her lips. She leans into the kiss and his arm moves from the couch to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She brings her hand up to rest on his shoulder as he moves his tongue across her bottom lip and she gasps. Her hand moves from his shoulder to his hair and he forgets what time it is or where they are. All he can focus on is the girl in his arms right now.

When they finally pull apart, Bellamy couldn’t say if it had only been minutes or hours. His heart is still pounding and as he looks at her, it doesn’t slow down. Her pupils are blown and her lips are swollen, and he can feel that his are swollen too. He can’t help the grin that makes its way across his face, and he’s pretty sure it looks pretty goofy with how wide he’s smiling, but he’s just really happy. He really does feel like a teenager again. Clarke smiles back at him and he wraps his arm around her tighter and she leans into his chest.

They finish watching _Tangled_ then move onto _The Lion King_ and they spend the rest of the night eating candy, talking, and kissing. Now that he’s kissed her once, he wants to keep kissing her but they don’t go any further than that. Halfway through _The Lion King_ the two of them lay down on the couch and before long, Clarke’s breathing evens out and Bellamy cards his fingers through her hair. He drifts off not long after her with his arms wrapped around her and the smell of her apple shampoo surrounding the two of them.

It’s the best sleep he’s gotten in a long time despite the fact that he and Clarke are sharing a slightly too-small couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Bellamy's POV, it's fun getting to see him and Clarke's reactions to certain things side by side while I write :)
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy goes to help Octavia move, but he can't stop thinking about a certain someone...
> 
> Sorry for any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes!

Bellamy wakes up to Clarke jumping at the sound of the door opening but he can’t bring himself to open his eyes since he knows Raven will undoubtedly be giving them some sort of look. He hears footsteps stop by the couch then a sigh and then the footsteps disappear down the hall and a door closes.

“Morning.” Bellamy opens his eyes a little as Clarke props her head on his chest. Her blonde hair is a messy halo around her head and she gives him a sleepy smile.

“Good morning. Sorry I fell asleep on you.” 

“S’okay.” _I like being a pillow_. Bellamy yawns and Clarke starts to get off the couch. It makes him laugh because she pretty much falls off and she snorts as she gets up and stretches.

“Cup of black poison you call coffee?”

“It’s only black coffee, you know.” Bellamy smirks up at her and does his best to not look at where her shirt has risen up. He’s a guy, sue him.

“Yeah, but Harper was right, just straight black coffee does taste like poison.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, Princess.” Bellamy stretches himself.

“No thank you, I enjoy _not_ tormenting my taste buds.” Clarke sticks out her tongue then makes her way into the kitchen, turning on her Keurig and Bellamy can’t help but laugh. He hadn’t liked black coffee when he first started drinking it either, but he started it more out of necessity. He follows her to the kitchen and sits down on one of the stools.

Raven reappears and it makes Bellamy and Clarke jump. “Now that the two of you have untangled yourselves from each other, I’m assuming last night was good?” Bellamy looks over at Clarke and smiles, and when she looks at him, she’s blushing.

“W—”

“I don’t want to know the details.” Raven holds up a hand. “I’ll just go with ‘ _yes_ ’ seeing as it’s already 10:00AM and y’all are just now getting up.”

“Wait, what?” The tiredness that Bellamy had been feeling disappears and he looks up at the clock on the microwave. _Uh oh._ “Shit, I’m going to be late.” Bellamy jumps off the stool and runs back to the living room, grabbing his phone off the coffee table. “I promised Octavia I’d help move some furniture.” Thankfully he doesn’t have any messages or missed calls from Octavia. _Yet._ He sprints back to the kitchen and stops in front of Clarke. He really hates leaving like this. He cups the side of her face and gives her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I gotta run. I’ll text you, okay?” Clarke nods her head and he kisses her forehead, but he wishes he could’ve at least stayed for the coffee she was making him. He gives her one last apologetic look before he takes off towards the front door.

“Be careful!” Clarke calls as he rushes towards the front door.

“Always, Princess.” He turns and grins at her. “Can you tell Madi I said bye?”

“Yeah, I got it.” Clarke gives him a smile and he nods.

“See ya, Raven.”

“Bye, Blake.”

Bellamy jogs towards his truck then speeds back home so he can change into work clothes. He knows it wouldn’t be a big deal if he showed up a little late, but he prides himself on being on time. He runs up to his room and throws on a pair of jeans and brushes his teeth before grabbing an apple and heading towards Octavia’s. He lets himself into her house and heads upstairs to the room he’s supposed to be rearranging, except when he gets there, it’s already rearranged.

“O, please tell me you didn’t move this yourself.”

“Well, I tried waiting but I got bored.” Octavia shrugs then looks around the room. Bellamy looks at his watch and snorts.

“I’m literally only five minutes late.”

“Not my fault you left me to fend for myself.” She teases and Bellamy rolls his eyes.

“Seems like I rushed here for nothing since you already moved everything.”

“So I guess that means you stayed the night at Clarke’s.” Octavia smirks at him and he groans.

“Honestly, do y’all not have anything else better to do than poke around in my personal life?”

“One, Bell, I’m your sister so it’s my _job_ to poke around in your personal life, and two, this is the first time you’ve even considered dating someone _seriously_ so excuse us if we’re a little nosey.” Octavia sighs and throws up her hands. “But we’ll talk about that later, I have something else we need to do today.”

Bellamy rolls his eyes but follows his sister downstairs and to the utility room. He’s not quite sure what else she wants to do, since when she asked him to come help a few days ago she only said that she wanted the furniture moved, but, knowing Octavia, she could be asking him to paint the ceiling or something.

“Up for some painting?” _Fuck._ Octavia holds up two cans of blue paint and grins at him.

“I’m not wearing painting clothes.” Bellamy looks down at his clothes. He’s wearing his favorite shirt, and a pair of old basketball shorts.

“I still have some of your clothes upstairs. I want that spare room to be August’s room when he gets older since his room now isn’t going to be big enough.”

“But you have at least another year before you have to move him, why do we have to paint now?” Bellamy sounds like a whiney little kid who was just told to pick up his toys.

“Please, Bell, you know I have to do things as soon as I think of them.” Octavia gives him her puppy dog eyes and he’s a goner. Those eyes are what got her a very expensive prom dress her senior year because she said that since she didn’t go to her junior prom she needed to have the full experience. Bellamy sighs. _What kind of brother would I be if I said no?_

“Fine, O. We’ll paint the damn room.” Bellamy groans and Octavia cheers, waving the paint cans around. He takes them from her before she can hurt herself.

Despite the fact that Octavia had just moved all the furniture, Bellamy tells her it would be better if they just cleared the room out and put the plastic tarps down. She seems kind of sad about it but in the end she shrugs and says ‘okay, I don’t think I liked the layout anyways’. After the furniture is cleared out, which was a bed, two nightstands, and a dresser, they put all of the plastic tarps down on the floor and then begin putting tape up around the windows and trim.

Octavia tells him that Maya and Jasper agreed to watch August today since they knew she had been planning on doing some remodeling and then reminded him that he agreed to help Harper and Monty move tomorrow. If he’s being honest, he completely forgot about helping them move, he was wanting to see if he could hangout with Clarke again. _Maybe I could invite her. No. I don’t think we’re ready to get hounded on by everyone yet. Is she my girlfriend? Are we dating? It was only one date but—_

Bellamy is torn out of his thoughts by something wet smacking him on the cheek. He sputters a little and brings his hands up to his cheek. They come back blue.

“What the fuck, Octavia?” He stares at his sister and she only raises her eyebrows.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention forever! You were too far gone in that thick brain of yours.” She points her paint brush at him and he stares at her for a second before picking up the rolling brush he has and rolling it over her face. “Bellamy!”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish little sister.”

“Oh, you are _so dead_.”

Needless to say, they get more paint on the floor than the actual walls. It reminds him of the time their mom had wanted to repaint the kitchen, saying that the white had dulled considerably and that she wanted to freshen it up. He had been sixteen and Octavia had been ten, and even though his mother had left him in charge, she still came back to paint splattered counters and two _very_ ghostly looking kids. His mom had been beyond pissed, but she laughed a lot that day. It was one of the best memories he had of the three of them.

Octavia calls a truce and then waddles out of the room with the paint already drying on her and he realizes that he never texted Clarke. Thankfully, the blue paint on his fingers is already dried and he pulls his phone out of his pocket. _What do I say? Just hey?_ He stares at his phone for a second before getting an idea. He smiles and turns on the camera before turning towards the window so he can get some better lighting. After he takes a picture he thinks is good enough, he opens up their text conversation.

**Clarke Griffin**

**Bellamy:** So, Octavia wanted some painting done too

_Attachment: 1 image_

**Bellamy:** How do I look?

He sends the messages then stares at the screen for a second, expecting her to answer immediately. _She’s probably busy_ , he reminds himself so he locks his phone then looks around the room. Even though they didn’t get any paint on the floor, it was going to be a lot to clean up. He tries to stretch but the paint drying on his arms and his face pull at the hairs on his body and he winces. _Yeah, definitely need a shower._ He starts towards the hall when his phone buzzes and he pulls it out of his pocket, his heart already threatening to beat out of his chest.

The picture is of Clarke and Madi laughing, and he can really see the resemblance. Their eyes are nearly closed but he can still see some blue peeking out, and their noses are scrunched up the same way. _Like mother like daughter._

**Clarke Griffin**

**Clarke:** We think you look fantastic :)

Bellamy smiles and his heart does a little flip.

 **Bellamy:** I think you look fantastic :)

He knows that it’s cheesy and that it’s probably one of the worst flirting lines ever, but he hopes it’ll make her laugh. He continues to the second bathroom downstairs and gets ready to start trying to rub off some of the paint when his phone buzzes again.

 **Clarke:** That was really cheesy, but I think I like cheesy

Bellamy grins.

 **Bellamy:** I try :) how’s your day going so far?

He tries to text her as much as he can while he tries to get the paint off himself, and he may or may not ask her if there’s any sort of magical fix for getting blue paint out of his hair. She says that she’s never gotten it in her hair before but that she’s tried everything from dish soap, to toothpaste, to baby oil, but that she couldn’t remember which one worked the best.

It takes a _long_ time, but finally he feels like he’s done a good enough job at getting the paint out of his hair, even though there’s still some blue strands, and off his skin, but he still has a few flakes on him. He goes back upstairs and yells to Octavia from the doorway of the master bedroom, asking if she wants him to actually paint the walls now, and she says yeah, but she’s still going to be a while. There’s also a long string of curse words and telling Bellamy that he’s ruined her hair forever, but he just snorts and heads towards the spare room.

He actually manages to get a full wall painted before Octavia comes back into the room with new clothes and a shower cap on her head. He quirks an eyebrow at her and she glares at him.

“Don’t even start, I’m letting some baby oil sit in my hair before I go at it again.”

“Need I remind you that _you’re_ the one who started it? You got it in my hair first.”

“Barely! I mostly got it on your face!”

“Like I said, don’t start something you’re not prepared to finished.” He grins at her and she practically growls at him.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, O.” He gives her a sweet smile which only makes her glare more before she picks up a paint brush and starts on the other wall.

As the day goes on, he alternates between texting Clarke and sending her pictures, and painting, reorganizing the study, and talking with Octavia. Bellamy enjoys spending time with Octavia, don’t get him wrong, but there’s still a small ache in his chest at the idea that he won’t get to see Clarke today or tomorrow. _God, pull yourself together._ At the end of the day, the two of them each grab a beer then throw themselves on the couch and Octavia asks him how the end of the school year is going and if he and Clarke are going to put a label on the two of them.

“I don’t know, it was just one date.”

“A lunch date, that turned into a movie date, that turned into you spending the night at her house.” Octavia raises her eyebrow at him and he shrugs.

“I didn’t plan on staying there last night, we just sort of, passed out on the couch together.”

“So, you’ve already slept together.” Octavia smirks and he hits her with one of the throw pillows on the couch. Apollo, the Australian shepherd that their mom had brought home one day when they were younger, lifts up his head and looks at Bellamy.

“Sorry, buddy, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Bellamy reaches out and scratches Apollo behind his ears and the dog leans into him a little before falling back asleep. Then Bellamy turns his attention back to his little sister. “I just don’t want to push her into something that she’s not ready for.”

“Has she said anything?”

“Well, no, but—” Bellamy sighs. “Do you remember that boyfriend mom had when we were younger? His name was Mike and he worked construction?” Octavia tilts her head to the side and looks at him, her eyebrows knitting together for a second before shaking her head. “Well, mom hadn’t dated anyone after your dad and she always said that she didn’t want to bring a man into our lives and complicate things.”

“But that changed.”

“Yeah, it changed big time when Mike started to come around. You were like three or four and you really liked him; mom did too, and he treated us really well.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Bellamy’s tried to figure out what happened between his mom and Mike, but she never told him anything. “But the point is, she sat us down and told us that Mike wasn’t going to come around anymore because we kept asking her when we would see him again. You cried and cried and said that you wanted him to come back because you said he was your new dad. Then, after that, mom didn’t date anyone else.”

“Oh my god. I don’t remember that.”

Bellamy shrugs then takes a sip of his beer. “You were young, you didn’t know any better.”

“And this is why you think that Clarke won’t want to date you? Because of what happened with mom?”

“She has a lot to think about when it comes to her relationship life, O, she has a daughter to think about.”

“Yeah, but—”

“If you were single, and it was just you and August, do you think that you would be willing to date someone knowing that your child could get attached to them and then the person could just leave?”

She stares at him for a second before looking down at the bottle in her hands. “No, I don’t think I would.”

“Then there you go.”

“But you’re not just some person, Bell. You’re smart, you’re kind, and I could tell immediately that you already adore the both of them. I don’t think I’ve seen you smile that much at someone in a very long time.”

“O—”

“No, let me finish. You knew what you were getting into when you asked her out to lunch, so that means you know that there’s no easy way for you to walk away from this, and I don’t think you want to. Like, god, Bellamy, you’ve barely known this girl for forty-eight hours but it seems like you already know that you want to be with her for a while. You know that’s insane, right? People would lock you up for thinking that way about someone you barely know.” Octavia laughs at the end and Bellamy can feel his mouth pull into a smile.

“Yeah, it is pretty crazy, isn’t it?”

“Not pretty crazy, _insane._ But the fact that you saw this mom in the airport and was instantly like _I want to date her even though she has a kid_ says a lot about you. She may be having some reservations when it comes to the two of you being together, but, if you ask me, I wouldn’t be surprised if y’all do decide to put a label on things.”

“You wouldn’t?” Bellamy looks at his sister and she grins.

“With the way she was looking at you at lunch? Definitely not. And she likes my diner, so I’d like her to stick around for a while.”

Bellamy barks out a laugh and shakes his head. _I’d like her to stick around for a while too._ He and Octavia keep talking until he finishes his beer and when he starts yawning, he decides to head home. It’s been a long day, and it’s going to be an even longer day tomorrow.

When he gets home, he takes a quick shower and manages to get the rest of the blue paint off before he changes into his pajamas from the night before. It’s only when he realizes that he hasn’t eaten anything in like six hours that he gets up and drags himself into the kitchen. Miller’s still not home yet from his guard shift at the jail so he decides to cook some salmon that Miller seemed to have bought before he left for the day.

After Bellamy gets the salmon in the oven, he goes back into the living room to watch some T.V. and ends up dozing off because he jerks awake when the oven timer echoes through the house. His stomach grumbles as he pulls the fish out of the oven and cuts a piece off for himself. Despite it still being hot, he completely annihilates the piece on his plate then wanders back into the living room to finish watching a documentary on the Titanic before heading to bed. He’s actually starting to doze off again when his phone buzzes against his leg. He fishes it out of his pocket and opens his eyes, _Clarke_ flashes across the screen and his heart picks up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, um, is it a bad time?” She sounds uncertain about calling him, but he likes hearing her voice.

“No, no it’s good. What’s up?” He sits up on the couch a little and the sleepiness that he had been feeling dissipates.

“Well, I was putting Madi to bed and she asked if you were here and I told her that you were at home and that you couldn’t stay here every night, but it seems like she doesn’t want to go to sleep since you’re not here to tell her goodnight.”

“So, do you want me to talk to her?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if you could, I don’t know, talk to her on the phone? Or maybe FaceTime her? Something to help her get to sleep. Not that I don’t want you to come over, it’s just, I think you’re probably too tired.” The idea of going to Clarke’s and sleeping there another night sounds like the best thing ever, if he’s being honest, but he feels like if he were to try and drive there right now he’d fall asleep at the wheel.

“Yeah, I can FaceTime the two of you if you want.”

“You will?” He can hear her smile through the phone and it makes him smile.

“Of course.” He looks at the screen and clicks the FaceTime button and when her smiling face fills the screen, he doesn’t feel tired at all. “Hello, Princess.”

“Bellamy.” She smiles at him and the way she says his name makes the butterflies in his stomach stir. “Shhh…” he can see her start down the hall and he nods his head before placing a finger over his lips. When she opens a door, she puts the phone against her chest and Bellamy has to mentally chide himself for thinking about what it would actually feel like to lay on.

“Hey, Madi, I have a surprise.” Bellamy can hear a bed creak. “Say hi to Bell.” Clarke pulls the phone away and now Madi is in the screen with her.

“Hi, Bell.” The little girl grins at him and he smiles back. _These two girls really do have a hold on me, don’t they?_

“Hey, Madi, what did you do today?”

Bellamy settles back into the couch as Madi starts off with what she ate for breakfast and tells him that she tried raspberries for the first time and that she really likes them. Then she tells him about how she tried to catch butterflies outside and drew a bunch of pictures and how Raven showed her how to make some origami animals. It’s when she goes to get out of bed that Bellamy and Clarke both tell her that it’s late and that she can show him another time. Madi pouts a little but settles back into the bed.

“Mommy says that you have your own house.”

“I do have my own house.”

“You can stay here.” Her blue eyes are wide, and Bellamy can see Clarke’s go wide, but from shock. He’s pretty sure he forgets how to breathe and his brain seems to malfunction for a split second before he recovers. Though his face feels like it’s on fire.

“Thank you, Madi, but I need to stay here.” He tries to sound as nice as possible so he doesn’t upset her, and she gives him a sad look.

“But you’ll still visit?”

“Of course.” Bellamy smiles and that seems to be enough for Madi because she burrows deeper into the covers and he and Clarke both tell her it’s time to go to sleep.

Clarke turns the lamp off and then tip toes out of Madi’s room. He could tell that she had been mortified when Madi brought up him living with them, but he couldn’t blame her.

“Sorry about that,” Clarke mumbles and he can see her crawling into bed. “She brought it up earlier but I didn’t think she’d bring it up to you too.”

“It’s fine.” Bellamy laughs at the whole situation before pushing off the couch and heading towards his room. He can hear the front door open and then Miller’s voice booms throughout the house.

“Bellamy! Did you cook dinner?” Miller appears at his shoulder. “Is it—oh, who’s this?” Miller smiles at Clarke from around his shoulder. “So you’re the blonde bombshell from the airport.”

“Hi.” Clarke smiles and Bellamy can see a slight blush creep onto her cheeks and he thinks it’s adorable.

“Miller,” Bellamy glares. “Clarke, this is my jackass of a roommate Miller, and, jackass, this is Clarke.”

“Nice to meet you, Clarke.” Miller smiles. “You’re too pretty for him.”

“Really? I was thinking it was the other way around.” Clarke smiles at Bellamy and then it’s his turn to blush.

“Oh I like her.” Miller grins at Bellamy and he just rolls his eyes.

“Go eat dinner and let me talk to my girlfriend _alone_.” Bellamy groans and Miller just holds up his hands in surrender then turns and walks back the way he came. “Sorry about that.” Bellamy grumbles then continues up the stairs before pushing into his room and throwing himself down on his bed.

“So, girlfriend, huh?” Clarke quirks an eyebrow.

“Shit, sorry, that’s something we still have to talk about.” He gives her a sheepish smile and she grins.

“I like it.”

“You do?” Bellamy can see how excited he is in the little box on the corner of the screen. If his heart hadn’t been threating to beat out of his chest already, it sure would be now.

“Yeah, I think I could get used to it.”

“So does that mean I’m now your boyfriend?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s how it works, but I could be mistaken. I haven’t had a relationship in a while.” Clarke shrugs but he can tell she’s biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling so much..

“Me either, we’ll just assume that’s how it goes.” Bellamy winks and it throws Clarke into a fit of giggles.

Clarke settles into her bed and he does the same, but he doesn’t feel as tired as he had been earlier. She asks him about his day which sends him into a rant about how Octavia had already rearranged the furniture then proceeded to smear paint on his face. He doesn’t tell her that the reason why she smeared paint on his face was because he was zoned out thinking about her, though. Then he goes on to talk about how she wanted to rearrange the study after and he’s pretty sure that at the rate she’s going he’ll have rearranged the entire house.

He asks Clarke if she’s ready for classes to start back but she pouts a little and tells him that she wishes she didn’t have to bring Madi back to daycare, but that it’s probably for the best since campus is going to be a nightmare. She says that her teachers are fine with her bringing Madi to class with her, but she knows that Madi can get bored easily. It pulls at his heart with how sad she seems at bringing Madi back to daycare.

“If you want I can watch her during my office hours.” Bellamy offers as he hugs his pillow. He’s starting to get tired again.

“Wait, can you actually do that?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t see why not.” He shrugs. “What time are your classes?”

“Noon to 2:30PM, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

“My office hours are 11:30 to 1:30 Monday and Friday so you could drop her off before your class and I can bring her to get lunch or something while we wait.” Bellamy yawns and hugs the pillow tighter. He watches as she thinks about it.

“You would really do that?” It comes out almost like a whisper.

“Of course.”

“Why?” As soon as she asks, her eyes go wide. “I’m sorry, that came out harsh. What I mean is, is that I love that you’re so willing to help, but why are you so willing? Usually guys don’t want anything to do with a single mom.” She mumbles the last part and the conversation that Bellamy had with Octavia earlier comes flooding back into his mind. _So it wasn’t just that she had a daughter to think about. People have told her that she’d never find anyone._

“I told you that my mom had to raise me and Octavia on her own, so I know how hard it can be. I’ve practically raised Octavia since I was six, and maybe I just want to help.” Clarke peeks up at him through her eyelashes and it makes his heart soar. He smiles. “Besides, I love hanging out with you and Madi. There’s never a dull moment.”

She gives him a soft smile too and bites into her bottom lip. “I’m sorry I sounded so harsh.”

“It’s fine, I understand.” He gives her a reassuring smile and can see her visibly relax.

“How is it that a guy like you didn’t already have a girlfriend? What’s wrong with you?” Clarke teases and Bellamy laughs.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Bellamy raises his eyebrows at her.

“We’ve already gone through this! I have a kid, what’s your excuse?” Clarke raises her eyebrows right back and it makes him grin.

“Maybe I’ve just been waiting for you.”

Clarke whistles. “You’re smooth, Blake, you’re really smooth.” She smiles and he’s having a hard time not smiling too.

“I’m glad you think so.”

They continue to talk for what seems like hours and Bellamy knows he’s going to feel the effects of it tomorrow, but he can’t bring himself to end the call. She’s beautiful to look at and her laugh does funny things to his chest, and her smile makes him feel like he’s looking into the sun while at the same time drowning in her blue eyes. They both end up having to plug up their phones so they can keep talking, and Bellamy doesn’t want it to end.

Eventually, though, they both fall asleep but he can’t remember who fell asleep first. It’s not the same as actually holding her, but it works. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these two omg lol
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x
> 
> So, I posted this background information on Chapter 3 of the first part of the series, so if you haven't read the first part then I hope this helps!
> 
> Background information:  
> Clarke met Finn the summer before she started college (say around the beginning of July 2k15) because she wanted to move and find a job and they just happened to bump into each other. Clarke didn't find out that she was pregnant until early October, but she was waiting for the best time to tell Finn. Well, she told him but a week later found out that she was the 'other woman' in his relationship with Raven. So basically they both dropped him and moved in together that December because even though Finn was a POS, Raven wasn't going to let Clarke raise a baby on her own (besides, they're both awesome people so why wouldn't they be friends?) and Madi was born that following summer. The beginning of this story is taking place in April 2k19, during Spring Break, and Madi's third birthday is this following summer in June.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy introduces Clarke to everyone :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry this took so long to update, but I should be updating every week from now on :) Classes start back the last week of August for me so the updating may become slower, but I'm going to try my best to keep it up.
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me and this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Bellamy wakes up with his phone right in front of his face and the sound of light snoring coming from it’s speakers. He smiles and just lays there watching her for a minute. He’s pretty sure he’s never fallen asleep on the phone with anyone before; Clarke Griffin is the first. He stretches and gets out of bed then unplugs his phone while he goes down to the kitchen to get breakfast. They’ve already spent all night on the phone, why end the call now?

He’s back in his room eating a bowl of cereal and watching the news at a low volume when he sees Clarke move on the screen. He turns and looks at her, smiling.

“Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Good morning.” Clarke yawns. “You stayed on the phone with me even after I went to sleep?”

“Of course.” He looks at her and she has the cutest sleepy smile ever on her face. It makes his heart stutter. Something on the news catches his attention but he’s pretty sure she said something because he turns back to her, his eyebrows knitted together. “Huh?”

“I said you’re too adorable.” She blushes.

“I prefer the term ‘walking Adonis’ but I’ll take adorable.” Clarke rolls her eyes and it makes him laugh. “Unfortunately, I have to get ready soon. I told Harper I would help her and her boyfriend move today.”

“Do you always offer to help people?” Clarke says it like she’s surprised.

“I help where I can.” He shrugs. “Harper has always been like family so if she needs help then I try.”

“Bellamy!” Octavia’s voice carries into his room and he suppresses a groan. “Bellamy you better be up!” Octavia throws the door to his room open.

“Jesus Christ, Octavia! I thought the point of having separate houses was so we didn’t keep barging in on each other!”

“Not my fault you gave me a key.” Well he _had_ to give her a key when he changed the locks. They both grew up here, so why wouldn’t he give her a key? But with mornings like these, he wishes he hadn’t. She crosses her arms and cocks an eyebrow at him.

“We told Harper—oh, hey, Clarke!” Octavia bounds towards the bed and jumps sideways onto Bellamy’s stomach and picks up his phone, earning a groan of protest from him. “Did you just wake up too?”

“Uh, yeah. Late Start.”

“I see that.” Octavia looks at Bellamy from the corner of her eyes and Bellamy looks at his little sister. _Now what_. “Excuse us for one second.” Octavia mutes their side of the FaceTime then turns to Bellamy. “You two spent the night on the phone, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Have y’all put a label on things?”

“Yes.” Bellamy leans back on the headboard and narrows his eyes at his sister. _Where is she going with this?_

“Tell her to come to Monty and Harper’s today.”

“I don’t know—”

“Come on, Bell, you know you want to see her again. Everyone wants to meet her.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Come on, you know you want her there.”

_She’s not wrong._ “Okay, fine. Yes. I want her there.” Octavia smirks at him and then she turns to unmute the phone.

“Crazy idea and last minute but would you be up for hanging out while the guys move Harper and Monty’s stuff? I think August would like to have some company and he’s close to Madi’s age.”

“Oh.” Bellamy watches as Clarke turns red. She glances towards him and smiles. “Yeah, sure. When?”

“In about an hour, I’m sure Bellamy can text you with the address.” Octavia smiles then stands up, elbowing Bellamy in the stomach in the process and he grunts. “Now, I have to go round everyone else up. See you in an hour!” Octavia waves then she’s gone.

“So, who else is going to be there?”

“Everyone.” Bellamy smirks.

“Everyone?” Clarke echoes and her eyebrows crease together.

“You’ll see. But, hey, I have to get ready. Do you want me to text you the address or come pick you up?”

“Um…I’d like to ride with you.” Clarke says it like she’s shy and Bellamy’s face splits into a grin.

“You are unbelievably adorable. Alright, I’ll be there in an hour. Would that be enough time for y’all to get ready?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“Then it’s settled. See you soon, baby.” Bellamy smirks when he says the name and he doesn’t know if it was just the lighting or what but it seemed like her eyes got dark. _I think she likes the name_.

Bellamy practically skips to the bathroom so he can shower. How this girl could make him feel so giddy after such a short amount of time will always be one of life’s greatest mysteries, but he’s not complaining. He hums while he showers and whistles when he puts his cereal bowl in the sink in the kitchen. He knows Miller is already gone because he heard Octavia talking to him before she left and then he heard the front door shut while he was getting dressed.

When he gets to Clarke’s he tries to keep himself from grinning so much since it’s starting to hurt his cheeks. He rings the doorbell and he hears the sound of Madi and Clarke running towards the door. When Clarke opens it, Madi jumps into his arms and gives him a hug.

“I missed you, Bell.”

“I missed you too, Mads.” Bellamy sets her down then wraps an arm around Clarke’s waist and gives her a kiss. “Hello, gorgeous.” He murmurs.

“Hi.” She blushes and ducks her head. _Beautiful_.

On the ride to Harper and Monty’s, Bellamy keeps Clarke hand in his right while he drives with his left. It’s small in his and her skin is a stark contrast to his, but he loves it. When they pull into the driveway, he can make out everyone’s vehicle and he can see Lincoln and Harper by the moving truck. Clarke hops out of the truck and Bellamy gets Madi out of her carseat.

“Hey, Clarke!” Harper smiles and bounds towards Clarke while Bellamy walks towards Lincoln.

“Lincoln, this is Madi. Madi, can you say hi to Lincoln?” She shakes her head and turns away, and she holds onto Bellamy’s neck a little tighter.

“She’s very shy.” Bellamy says, hoping Lincoln doesn’t take it personally.

“And I know I can be very intimidating.” Lincoln jokes and Bellamy lets out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“Lincoln!” Harper calls his name and they all turn to look at her. Her arm is linked with Clarke’s as they walk towards them.

“Hi, you must be Clarke.” Lincoln smiles and holds his hand out for Clarke to shake.

“Nice to meet you, I see you’ve met Madi.” Clarke motions towards her daughter who’s still shying away from him. “Madi, did you say hi to Lincoln?”

“Hi.”

“Hi, Madi. Do you want to meet my son?” Lincoln turns and scans the yard. “He’s around here somewhere.” As if on cue Octavia and August run from the side of the house with Monty chasing them. “There they are.” Lincoln grins. August runs straight to his dad and Lincoln bends down to pick him up. He spins a couple of times and it makes August laugh.

“Hey, y’all finally made it.” Octavia greets them and gives Madi a little wave. “Hey, Madi.” Madi smiles.

“August, can you say hi to Madi and Clarke?” Lincoln looks at his son who gives Clarke and Madi a small wave, and Madi waves back.

“Madi, would you want to play with August?” Clarke asks and Madi looks at the other boy. After a second, Madi nods her head so Bellamy takes that as his cue to set Madi down and Lincoln does the same with August.

“You can go tour the house, I got them.” Octavia reassures Clarke then she’s following the two of them while they babble to each other.

Harper makes introductions with Clarke and Monty and Clarke asks if there’s anyone else coming.

“Jasper and Maya won’t be here until a little later and neither will Murphy and Emori.” Harper says.

“Murphy’s actually coming?” Bellamy asks his eyebrows raised.

“It’s a house warming _party_ , of course Murphy is coming.” Monty snorts.

“Oh, a party?” Clarke looks down at her clothes but Bellamy doesn’t see anything wrong with them.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. We don’t drink how we used to.” Lincoln says as a way of reassurance but Bellamy knows it’s only him, Lincoln, and Octavia who don’t drink like they used to. Bellamy and Lincoln are a little too old to be doing keg stands at this point and Octavia doesn’t drink as much because of August. Everyone starts chatting with each other but Bellamy can feel that Clarke is still tense beside him so he leans in close to her.

“Don’t worry, Princess. I got you.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

He smirks. “Good.”

“Alright, tour time!” Harper exclaims then she’s dragging Clarke towards the house.

With Harper leading Clarke towards the house and Octavia watching August and Madi in the backyard, Bellamy finds that there’s nothing keeping him from helping Lincoln and Monty start moving things out of the truck. First it was a couch, which they just set out in the yard for now, then a few kitchen boxes, a T.V. stand, more boxes…they’re just starting to work on getting Harper’s ginormous bed out when Harper and Clarke emerge from the house and another car pulls up in the driveway.

“What the hell are you doing here, Griffin?” Bellamy’s recognizes Raven’s voice which means that Zeke is here now and they could use an extra hand.

“Handle the bed after a drink?” Bellamy looks at Monty and Lincoln and they both seem relieved at his suggestion because they nod their heads then put the bed down.

Bellamy makes his way over to Clarke who’s talking to Zeke and gets handed a beer by Raven when Miller pulls up.

“Y’all started the party without me!” He makes his way towards the group and Lincoln hands him a beer. “Ah, Clarke, nice to finally meet you in person.” The two of them shake hands. “Nate Miller, but everyone just calls me Miller.”

“Nice to meet you in person.” Clarke smiles at Miller who raises his bottle in salute. Bellamy doesn’t know why he was so worried about Clarke meeting his friends, because everything has gone well. Then again, Murphy isn’t here yet but she already knows Murpy.

“So, what’ve I missed?”

Everyone stands around talking and the guys give Miller some crap for not getting here earlier but Miller explains he was getting an ice chest and some drinks too. It’s all relaxed considering they’re standing outside in nearly ninety-degree heat with the sun beating down on them. _Why_ Monty and Harper chose the hottest day of the week to move their furniture, Bellamy will never know.

They had just moved on to what they should move out of the truck next when the sound of someone crying tears through their conversation. _Madi_. Bellamy can see the look of panic on Clarke’s face before she hands her beer to Raven and runs towards the side of the house, and Bellamy follows her. Octavia has a crying Madi in her arms and Madi has a very dirty knee with some drops of blood mixed in with it.

“She tripped on a root and skinned her knee.” Octavia says as she hands Madi over to Clarke. Bellamy can see the guilt on Octavia’s face and the sight of Madi being hurt and Octavia feeling bad because it happened under her watch has Bellamy’s heart being split in two.

“Oh, my little natblida. Let me see.” Clarke crouches on the ground with Madi in her lap. Bellamy kneels down too to look at the scratch and he can feel his mouth being turned down in a frown at the sight. It’s not bad, in fact the blood has already started to dry, but Madi still has a few tears falling down her face. “We just need to clean it.” Clarke says it to no one in particular but Bellamy nods his head and stands, helping Clarke up after him.

Bellamy stays by Clarke, but Octavia falls into step with her too. “Sorry, I should’ve seen what was going to happen.” Octavia apologizes but Clarke gives her a smile.

“It’s fine. She’s accident prone.” Clarke reassures her and Bellamy can see the tension leave Octavia’s shoulders. Octavia gives Clarke a small smile and nods.

When they get into the house, Harper motions for Clarke to set Madi on the counter while she rummages through one of the boxes for the first aid kit. Bellamy takes up a spot next to Madi and Bellamy reaches out to hold her hand and her little hand can barely wrap around two of his fingers. He remembers when Octavia would get hurt; it felt like his world was crashing down around him until she stopped crying, and seeing Madi like this isn’t any better.

Madi isn’t crying anymore, which Bellamy is grateful for, but Clarke has only ran water over the cut so he knows when she puts the antibiotics on there, it might sting a little. When Harper comes back with the first aid kit, Clarke takes out some Neosporin and hums as she dabs it onto Madi’s leg and Madi’s little hand grips Bellamy’s tighter. It doesn’t take much longer for a band-aid to be placed over the cut and Clarke to step back and smile.

“Ta-da! All better!” Clarke spreads her arms out and Madi giggles, causing Bellamy to release a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He smiles and lifts Madi off the counter and swings her around.

“That’s my little warrior!” Bellamy gushes and it makes Madi giggle even more. Despite it only being a small cut, he hates when the people he cares about get hurt. He tries not to think about the time August fell face first into a table leg and got a few cuts on his face…that night Bellamy is pretty sure he freaked out more than Octavia and that’s saying something.

“Wow.” Miller stops by the kitchen and stares at the three of them. His head is tilted to the side a little like he’s trying to figure something out that confuses him.

“What?” Bellamy stops swinging Madi around and looks at his friend.

“Nothing, it’s just,” a small smile crept its way onto Miller’s face, “she just  _really_  looks like your kid.” Miller turns his attention to Clarke. “Are you sure this dork isn’t her father?”

Bellamy glances at Clarke and notices her blushing. “Pretty sure, but I could see where that would be confusing.”

Miller laughs and takes one more look at the three of them before disappearing down the hallway. Bellamy glances at Clarke again and he wonders if she was thinking the same thing he had been. He would remember being with Clarke, and knows for a fact that Madi isn’t his child, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Madi really _does_ look like she could be his. She has his dark hair and some freckles with her mother’s blue eyes.

Octavia comes in with August in her arms who’s holding two pop-ice sticks and he hands the pink one over to Madi while still holding onto the green one.

“August wanted to give something to Madi to make her feel better.”

“Aw, well that’s very sweet of you, August.” Clarke smiles at the little boy and he ducks his head.

“Thank you.” Madi mumbles around the flavored ice.

The five of them head outside so the kids don’t get flavored juice everywhere in the house. Most of the other adults are sitting on a couch that has been unloaded and placed in the front yard. The sun is beating down on them now and it’s nearly stifling, southern humidity is not something that should be taken lightly. Bellamy keeps Madi in his arms while she eats her popsicle, and he wishes he had one. It’s really hot.

“I can see why no one else is showing up until later,” Monty groans, “it’s way too damn hot to be doing this.” He leans his head back against the couch cushion.

“You’re the one who wanted to move everything today.” Zeke points out from his place on the hood of his car.

“Yeah, Green, the last person who should be complaining is you.” Raven is sitting on the ground in front of the car and between Zeke’s legs.

“You guys know what we need? A pool.” Harper stands up and puts her hips. “Let’s get a pool.”

“Right now?” Lincoln looks at her like he can’t believe they’re supposed to move furniture  _and_  get a pool and put it together. Honestly, Bellamy is feeling the same panic.

“Why not?” Harper quirks an eyebrow. “It’s something us girls can do while you guys move the furniture since we’re obviously not going to help.”

“Obviously.” Monty grumbles and Harper nudges him in the shin, but she smiles down at him.

“So?” Harper looks around at the girls and Bellamy can see Clarke hesitate. Clarke looks at Raven who shrugs.

“Alright, let’s do it.” Octavia speaks up first.

“Why not?” Raven says as she gets up from her little spot in the shade. “What say you, Griffin?”

“Let’s go.” Clarke smiles and all the girls get together. “Wait, what about—” Clarke turns to look at Bellamy and Madi, and Octavia and August.

“We can watch them.” Lincoln and Bellamy say it in unison and Bellamy has to fight the urge to feel embarrassed. Madi isn’t his kid, but he just reacted how an actual dad did.

“Come here, August.” Lincoln holds out his arms for his son and August smiles, holding his arms out for his dad, accidentally spilling some popsicle on Lincoln’s shirt in the process.

“What about you, Madi? Want to hangout with me?” Bellamy looks down at Madi who smiles wide, nodding her head.

“Alright, I guess that settles that.” Clarke smiles at him and Bellamy’s heart does a little flip flop.

Octavia gets the keys to Lincoln’s truck and all of the girls pile into it, but not without Clarke looking over her shoulder at him and Madi. The two of them wave bye to her and she smiles before hopping into the back seat with Raven. Bellamy and Madi watch the truck back out of the driveway and head down the road. _My first time actually babysitting._ The thought causes a brief moment of panic in Bellamy, but he can hear Clarke’s voice in his head from the first night he was at her house. _You’re really good with her._

“So, Madi, what do you want to do?” Bellamy moves to sit on the couch next to Monty and Madi looks around.

“Draw.” She smiles up at him and Bellamy can see the Clarke in her.

“Okay, um…” Bellamy looks around and his eyes settle on Monty. “I don’t have anything for her to draw on.”

“I put a box of my school stuff in the bedroom, I’ll be right back.”

Lincoln and Bellamy bring the kids inside and get them set up on the floor in the vacant living room while Monty tears some clean pages out of his notebook and hands August some highlighters and Madi some highlighters and dull pencils since he didn’t have any crayons.

Bellamy knows that he’s supposed to be helping the other guys move the stuff in from the truck, but he can’t help himself when he sits between August and Madi and starts drawing his own picture. Though, drawing has never been his strong suit. Every now and then Madi will laugh and say that what he’s drawing looks like a ‘tato or a blob but they’re both enjoying themselves. Every time August finishes a drawing he pulls on Bellamy’s shirt and points at it which leads Bellamy to grin and tell his nephew it’s amazing, and he’s not surprised when Madi tells him the same. Just watching he interaction, Bellamy knows that Madi has learned that kind of encouragement from Clarke and how she always acts as if every drawing Madi does is the best thing ever. Which, anything August or Madi draws is the best thing ever to Bellamy, just like how everything Octavia did was great.

Eventually, Zeke comes in and tells Bellamy that he’s getting worn out, so he offers to watch Madi and August for a little bit. Bellamy hesitates at first, but Madi smiles and screams ‘come draw!’  and he knows that they’ll be in good hands. Between Bellamy and the other guys, they get the truck almost all the way unloaded but when Madi and August come outside saying that they’re bored with drawing, well, who would Bellamy and Lincoln be if they didn’t entertain their kids? _Wait. Not my kid. Clarke’s kid. I’m babysitting._

When the girls get back, Bellamy and Lincoln are on all fours with the kids on their backs and they’re racing from one end of the yard to the other. Madi is holding onto Bellamy’s hair but he doesn’t care when it gets pulled a little too hard, and August is clutching Lincoln’s ears so he can stay on. He’s pretty sure they look ridiculous, but hearing the kids laugh makes his heart feel like it’s about to leap out of his chest.

“Mama!” Madi shouts and Bellamy and Lincoln both stop moving so the kids can slide off their backs and run towards their moms, with the two of them following behind them.

“Hey, munchkin!” Clarke bends down and catches Madi as she hurls herself forward. “Are you having fun?” Madi nods and Bellamy feels relief flood his chest. He knew that she was, but having her actually confirm it is pretty great. “Well I got something for you.” Clarke holds up a bag and Madi smiles.

“This looks like a lot more than just a swimming pool,” Bellamy points out as he shakes some grass from his hair, then he slinks an arm around Clarke’s waist and kisses her temple.

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Lincoln walks over and presses a kiss to Octavia’s head.

“Well, it can’t be a party without a few extra surprises.” Harper points out as she unloads the tiki torches. “Come on, girls, we have some work to do.”

In the end, the girls refuse any help from the guys and Bellamy tries to not let his disappointment show on his face at the fact that he has to spend more time not around Clarke. But he knows that they really need to go ahead and get the rest of the stuff moved in. _How two people have so much shit I will never know_.

The guys go into the backyard to tell the girls that they’re almost done moving everything but that they’re about to take a break since it’s so hot outside. As a break, everyone goes inside for the AC and mills about around the kitchen, eating chips and eyeing the amount of food that’s been stacked in the fridge for later. Octavia and Clarke put the kids down for a nap in Monty and Harper’s room while the new pool fills up and Bellamy and Lincoln take to getting the meat ready.

Octavia and Clarke put Madi and August down for their naps in Monty and Harper’s bedroom and as Bellamy goes from the kitchen to the barbeque pit he can’t help but eye the swimming pool. Zeke helps Bellamy bring a plate of meat outside to put on the pit and when he goes back in, he hears Octavia say his name and Clarke ask if they had both met her.

“Who?” Bellamy asks as he stops near the kitchen island, his eyebrows raised.

“Lexa.”

“Uh, yeah, once at their wedding.” Bellamy motions between Lincoln and Octavia. “She didn’t like me.” Bellamy remembers telling her that he was pretty sure she was trying to make herself look like a commander out of a dystopian novel and she got upset. _But, really, who wears black face paint and a gear in the middle of their forehead asking to be called Heda?_ Bellamy grins. _Fun time._

“I was just telling Lincoln that she taught me some Trigedasleng when we were together.” Clarke says it normally, but it’s like he can tell that she’s trying to see how he’ll react to it. She hadn’t told him that she was interested in girls, but that doesn’t change anything.

“You dated Lexa? That’s…surprising. She was just so _intense_.” Bellamy’s eyebrows knit together as he tries to figure out how Clarke could ever be with someone like Lexa. The girl seemed like a bitch to him.

Clarke laughs. “I guess Lexa did come off that was, huh?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Octavia grumbles and Lincoln chuckles, but Bellamy remembers Lexa and Octavia nearly having a showdown on the dance floor.

“I left Trikru, but I still keep in touch with some people.” Lincoln says, turning his attention to Clarke. “Have you met Nyko?”

“Lexa mentioned him, but, no, I haven’t met him. Why did you leave? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I met this one,” Lincoln says, pointing to Octavia. “Outsiders aren’t particularly welcome and when they gave me the choice to stay there and break up with her or leave, I left. Which is another reason why I find it surprising that Lexa went against the unspoken laws and dated you, but with her being _Heda_ I’m sure she could do what she wanted.”

That was something Bellamy wasn’t likely to forget. When Octavia came home talking about a guy she had met who was even older than him, he hadn’t been happy. Learning that Lincoln’s tribe didn’t appreciate their people dating outside of their community didn’t make it any better, but the fact that Lincoln left his entire life behind for Octavia made him a good person for her in Bellamy’s book.

“Yeah, uh, they weren’t too happy.” Clarke looks down as she says it and Bellamy can’t help but wonder what happened between them.

“I would expect not.” Lincoln’s voice is soft and he gives Clarke an understanding look.

“Guys! I think the pool is almost ready!” The topic is changed when Monty yells from the back door and everyone has to shush him before the kids wake up from their naps earlier than expected.

Octavia hands Lincoln a pair of swim trunks she bought for him and Bellamy smiles as Clarke blushes when she hands him his. Undoubtedly, Octavia had helped Clarke pick something out that she knew he would like, but the fact that Clarke kept him in mind when getting stuff for herself and her daughter made him smile.

“I didn’t know what to get you, but Octavia told me your size and you look good in blue and black, so…” Clarke shrugs and Bellamy’s grin widens.

“Thank you, they’re perfect.” Bellamy leans down and gives Clarke a kiss on the cheek. “Do—”

“Clarke! Come on, I need help with my strings!” Raven calls from one of the rooms and Clarke smiles.

“Best friend duties call, but what were you going to ask me?” Clarke leans forward and presses her hands against Bellamy’s chest as his arms wrap around her waist.

“I was going to ask if you’d want to change in the same room, you know, I could help you with your straps.” Bellamy can feel his face heat up and Clarke laughs. _God, it’s beautiful_.

“Bellamy Blake, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re just trying to get me into bed and I really want to go swimming.”

“Hey, I was just trying to be a gentleman!” Bellamy protests but he knows his smile gives him away.

“Uh-huh.” Clarke leans up on her tip toes and gives him a sweet kiss. “You should hurry up and change, I’m ready to see you without a shirt on.”

Bellamy barks out a laugh when she pulls away and he shakes his head. “Now who’s the one trying to seduce who?”

Clarke starts walking backwards towards the room Raven had called from, but she doesn’t take her eyes off him. “I never said I wasn’t.” Clarke winks and then turns around and skips into the room her friend is in, leaving Bellamy grinning like an idiot after her. _She’s going to be the death of me._

The guys get outside before the girls since Octavia and Clarke had to get August and Madi ready for the pool, and Raven and Harper stayed in to help. Miller fetches a football out of the back of his truck and brings it around back for them to play a game of football while they’re waiting for the food to cook.

“Bellamy, I like Clarke.” Monty says as he throws the football towards him.

“Good, I do too.” Bellamy smirks and he throws it to Zeke.

“Yeah, Clarke’s pretty great. But I’m dating Raven so obviously Raven is the most amazing woman ever.”

“She has to be if she can put up with you.” Monty teases. “Besides, Harper is obviously the most amazing woman ever.”

“I don’t know, Clarke is pretty spectacular.”

“Y’all do realize that you’re each going to think that the woman you’re with is the most amazing woman ever, right?” Lincoln walks over from the barbeque pit and the circle expands to include him.

“Not me.” Miller grins and everyone laughs.

“But we all know you think Octavia is the best woman ever, Lincoln.” Monty points out and Lincoln smiles.

“Of course she is, that’s why I married her.”

Bellamy and Lincoln end up having to leave the game so they can keep an eye on the food that’s cooking, and the girls all come outside and immediately surround the pool. Raven and Harper go to work on inflating some of the rafts they had bought while Octavia and Clarke play with their kids. And Bellamy is finding it difficult to keep his eyes off Clarke long enough to watch where he’s supposed to be placing the food on the grill. Clarke had said that she was waiting to see him without a shirt on, but damn if he wasn’t captivated by her in her bikini. He didn’t want to ogle her, but he’s a guy. Sometimes he really can’t help it when there’s a woman that looks as beautiful as she does.

“The party started early and no one told us, I see how it is.” Murphy called from the side of the house as he and Emori turned around the corner. _Of course Murphy misses the actual moving part but is here for the free food and swimming pool_. “Holy shit.” Bellamy follows Murphy’s line of sight and notices that he’s looking at Clarke who’s smirking right back as he walks over to her.

“Clarke Griffin, live and in person. I heard you like my cooking.” He smirks and Clarke smiles.

“Better than I like the actual cook.” She teases and Murphy rolls his eyes before giving her a hug.

“Clarke, this is my girlfriend Emori, Emori, this is Clarke Griffin, we met a few years ago.”

“Nice to meet you.” Clarke holds out her hand and Emori shakes it, though Bellamy can see when Clarke notices Emori’s joined fingers but Clarke’s grin only widens.

“Yeah, you too.” The other girl smiles at her.

“And this,” Murphy says, steering his girlfriend towards Raven, “is Raven Reyes. She’s a complete pain in the ass.”

“Many could say that about you, Murphy.” Raven remarks before giving him a hug, too.

“Mama, pool?” Madi points towards the pool and Clarke picks her up.

“Yes, we’re going to get in the pool.” Clarke walks over and places Madi in the water next to Harper. “Murphy, you forgot to say hi to someone.”

“Hey, little hobbit.” Murphy leans over the side of the pool and smiles at her.

“Hobbit? Really, John?” Emori remarks, raising an eyebrow.

“What? She’s short!”

“She’s a  _toddler_.”

“And toddlers are short!”

“Here, have a drink.” Bellamy walks over and hands Murphy and Emori each a drink. As fun as it was to watch the two of them bicker, Bellamy knew it would last an hour if it hadn’t been stopped soon.

Emori and Murphy say hi to everyone else and then Emori jumps into the pool while Murphy actually offers to help at the grill. While Murphy may not like actually having to do work, he loves to cook. As time goes on, Bellamy keeps an eye on Clarke and Madi as they talk to everyone and he’s surprised to see that Madi took to Emori a lot quicker than she had Lincoln.

After about thirty minutes of watching the food, Bellamy can’t take it anymore so he tells everyone that the rest of them should get in the pool too. He starts towards the ladder and takes his shirt off then tosses it to a nearby lawn chair. Since Clarke’s wearing sunglasses he can’t exactly see if she’s looking at him, but he notices that her mouth is hanging open so he’s pretty sure she is. Bellamy steps up onto the ladder then throws himself forward, splashing down into the water.

Bellamy pops out of the water and shakes his hair out, grinning at Clarke as he does so. The sight of her lifting Madi up and down with her legs gives him an idea so he ducks back under the water and swims to where Madi is between Clarke’s legs. He’s glad that Clarke caught on because just as he’s about to jump up, Clarke moves her legs and Bellamy burst out of the water, brining Madi with him. Madi screams and giggles and Bellamy is pretty sure his grin is going to split his face in half. He goes to set her back down, but she doesn’t let him.

“Again! Again!” Bellamy’s grin doesn’t leave his face as he goes back under the water and shoots back up again, intensifying Madi’s laughter. 

“Aw, no invite for the new pool?” Jasper’s voice causes everyone to turn and look as he and his girlfriend Maya walk out the back door.

”Hey guys!” Harper squeals from the pool. “I told y’all to bring swimsuits.”

”She did.” Maya points out.

“Yeah but they didn’t tell us they’d be in use  _now_.” Jasper pouts and Monty laughs.

“Just get in,” Monty says, gesturing towards the ladder. “There’s people to meet.”

“Oh, I like people.” Jasper smiles and starts taking off his shirt.

Everyone goes through the stories of how they all met, and Bellamy is, thankfully, saved from the retelling of how much he disliked Lincoln when Octavia started dating him. Clarke and Raven learn that Bellamy pretty much acted as an older brother to Monty and Jasper since they were friends with Octavia, and how Monty and Harper met in high school but got together a couple of years ago, and how Jasper met Maya in the dining hall one day, and how Octavia and Lincoln met in a coffee shop.

When Harper asks about how Clarke and Raven met the two girls look at each other and smile. Bellamy knows this story since Clarke told him the first day they met each other, but he knows that hearing it again is only going to make him even more angry with the guy.

“You tell them, I told the story last.”

“I thought I did?”

“Nope, I told Bellamy.” 

“If this is the type of story where y’all need to decide who gets to tell it, then I’m excited to hear it.” Emori smirks before leaning over the side of the pool and pulling another bottle out of the ice chest. 

“Okay, so...” Raven begins and Bellamy notices everyone leaning in, ready to hear their story.

In the end, everyone at the pool has agreed on one thing: Finn is a asshole. 

“Seriously, he got both of you and he does that?” Harper looks completely dumbstruck. 

“Yeah, he’s an idiot.” Octavia agrees.

“I’m glad he was an idiot.” Zeke says, smiling down at Raven. “You were way too good for him.” 

“Thanks, babe.” 

“You are too.” Bellamy is relaxing against the side of the pool next to Clarke with his arm around her while Madi floats in front of them, playing with the water. 

“Thank you.” Clarke blushes and he gives her a chaste kiss. 

“Food’s ready!” Lincoln calls from the barbecue pit and everyone gets out. 

They all decide to eat outside since none of them really want to dry off and go inside, so Bellamy pulls three chairs together and he, Clarke, and Madi all sit down while everyone else gathers around too. Bellamy had years of cooking practice, as did Lincoln and Murphy, so he’s not really surprised at the sound Clarke makes when she bites into a piece of rib.

“Bellamy, this is amazing.” She smiles at him then turns to the others. “Seriously, this is wonderful, I love it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” Lincoln smiles and Murphy holds up his rib in salute before biting into it.

When everyone breaks into their own conversations, Clarke leans over towards Bellamy and whispers. “I’m going to keep you at my house forever so you can always cook for me.” She teases and Bellamy’s heart does a little flip.

“If that’s what you want, who am I to say no?” Bellamy says and it makes Clarke giggle. He leans forward and gives her a kiss, effectively smearing the barbeque sauce they had both had around their faces even more.

Since the guys finish first, they all decide to bring in the last bit of furniture. And it’s getting into evening time so they really didn’t want to move anything once it got dark. Bellamy can tell that some of the others are at least buzzed, but he limited his alcohol since he knew he would probably have to drive Clarke home, though she didn’t drink much either.

After the furniture is moved in, Bellamy goes to the backyard to be with everyone, but Clarke isn’t there. Everyone has opened a new drink, except Octavia and Lincoln, and he waves off Jasper’s attempts to give him another beer. He helps Lincoln clean off the barbeque pit while Miller and Zeke pack up the left over food and when they’re all done, the back door opens and Clarke walks out with a sleepy Madi in her arms.

“Hey, is she tired?” Bellamy stops by her side and Clarke nods.

“Yeah, I think we’re going to head home.”

“Aw, you can’t go,” Harper says from her place in Monty’s lap. “We have a guest room if you want to put her to sleep in there.” 

“Oh, we couldn’t—“

“It’s no problem, really.” Harper gives her a reassuring smile.

“Be our guest.” Monty continues which then leads Jasper into a rendition of “Be Our Guest” from _Beauty and the Beast_ and the sound of his singing follow Bellamy and Clarke upstairs as they go to put Madi down.

Octavia had already put August down, though Bellamy knew they wouldn’t be staying the night, so Clarke placed Madi next to him and she and Bellamy told Madi goodnight and tucked her in. Madi gives them a sleepy smile.

“Night night, mama.” She yawns. “Night night, Bell.”

“Good night, little one.” Without thinking about it, Bellamy places a kiss to her hair and when he pulls back, Clarke does the same, like she always does.

When they get back outside, it seems that almost all of the girls have taken up sitting in their boyfriend’s laps. Except Raven, who has her legs in Zeke’s lap and he’s massaging her left leg, and Emori because it looks like she pulled Murphy into _her_ lap.

There’s no chairs left that would be big enough for Bellamy and Clarke to sit in, so he takes two of the lawn chairs and pulls them together, resting his arm around Clarke’s shoulders as she leans into him. The conversation drifts from topic to topic: school, a new video game coming out, a new movie everyone wants to see. Bellamy had no doubt that Clarke would meld into their friend group instantly, but he’s kind of surprised at just _how much_ they all love her and Raven. _They belong here._

After a while, Monty disappears inside the house then returns with a guitar. Bellamy can practically feel everyone buzzing with excitement. Monty playing his guitar is something they all love.

“You play?” Clarke asks and Bellamy notices her look at the guitar.

”Yeah, a little.” 

“He’s being modest, he used to be in a band.” Harper says, which causes Monty to blush.

“It was three people and we didn’t have a singer, I wouldn’t exactly call it a band.” Octavia points out and Bellamy has to keep himself from laughing too much.

“You were in a band together?” 

“Yep, Monty on guitar, I played the drums, and Jasper had the triangle.” 

“I was a  _very_  good triangle.” Jasper smiles.

“Clarke can sing.” Raven interjects and everyone’s attention turns to Clarke. Bellamy knows Clarke can sing since she told him, but he’s never actually heard her sing. He notices her shift uncomfortably with everyone’s eyes on her, and he rubs his thumb across her shoulder.

“What do you say, Clarke? You up for it?” Monty is looking at her with an eyebrow raised and a pick already in his hand. 

“Sure, why not.” Clarke takes a deep breath and sits up straighter.

”Cool, any recommendations?” Monty looks around at their friends. 

“Ooh, I like “Viva La Vida”,” Harper pipes up and Monty gives her a knowing smile. 

Monty’s fingers begin to move across the strings and Bellamy watches as Clarke closes her eyes and begins to sway a little in time with the music.

_I used to rule the world_  
_seas would rise when I gave the word_  
_now in the morning, I sleep alone_  
_sweep the streets I used to own…_

When she starts singing, Bellamy is pretty sure his heart stopped beating. Her voice is so soft and light he’s pretty sure it could carry him away and he wouldn’t care. She keeps her eyes closed as she sings and Bellamy can’t take his eyes off of her. He doesn’t look at anyone else, but he can tell everyone’s attention is on her too. He lets himself get carried away in the beautiful sound that is her singing and when the song ends, everyone cheers. Clarke takes a deep breath and Bellamy can see her shake a little so he brings his hand up and rubs her back. She lets out a sigh of relief and he’s happy he was able to calm her down.

"You really can sing, Princess." He smirks and Clarke pushes him lightly.

“I told you.”

“Yes, you did.” Bellamy’s smile widens before he leans over and presses a kiss to her lips.

For the rest of the night everyone just sits around talking and at some point Cards Against Humanity gets brought out and it's more a task of keeping everyone from shouting so they don't wake up the kids as opposed to actually paying attention to the game, but it's still fun. Lincoln and Octavia leave before long, saying that they need to be up somewhat early in the morning, then Raven and Zeke, and then Bellamy and Clarke. Getting Madi up and into her car seat goes smooth and before long, they’re on their way back to Clarke’s house.

The idea of having to leave Clarke after such a wonderful day together causes a pain to stab his chest, but he knows that he can’t be with her every second of every day. He reaches over and laces his fingers with hers and he can feel a surge of electricity shoot through his body at the contact. Her hands are soft and small compared to his, and he loves it. When she looks over at him, he raises their joined hands up to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of hers. In the dim light of the passing street lights, Bellamy can see that Clarke has gotten a little red from all of the sun, and it only makes the butterflies in his stomach flutter more. _She really is gorgeous_.

When they reach her house, Bellamy helps get Madi out of the car seat and into the house, all the while her little arms are wrapped around his neck. They put Madi to bed again and she curls into her blankets and doesn’t stir as Bellamy and Clarke make their way back into he living room. _I think we’re all worn out_. Bellamy yawns.

“Do you live far?” Clarke asks as she worries at her bottom lip.

“About twenty minutes.” He yawns again and he can feel his eyelids beginning to droop.

“Do you think you’ll be fine to make it back?” Her eyes are wide as she looks up at him.

“Worried about me, Princess?” He asks as he looks down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Holding her is one of the best things he’s ever experienced if he’s being honest.

“Maybe.” Clarke says as she wraps her arms around his neck.

" _Maybe_." He echoes before leaning down to give her a kiss.

"You don't have to go home." She whispers when they break apart. Her words practically cause his heart to stop beating. “You could stay here.”

_She wants me to stay?_ “Would you want me to?” He says the words carefully. Between how tired he is and how mesmerizing the girl in front of him is, he’s not sure how his brain is still functioning. Clarke doesn’t say anything, but instead she smiles and leads him down the hall towards her room.

She pushes the door open and motions him inside before closing it behind them. “Would you settle for just sleeping?”

“Of course.” Bellamy smiles and he can see her smile back at him.

“I’m going to change real quick.” She disappears into her bathroom and Bellamy looks around her room. There’s pictures everywhere, drawings and photographs, and he’s not surprised to see a bunch of paint tubes spread across her desk. When she returns, she throws him a shirt that says _Washington D.C._ that seems like it would be three times too big for her. “You can sleep in your boxers if it makes you feel better.” She offers as she settles onto the right side of the bed.

While the idea of sleeping in boxers sounds a lot more comfortable, he doesn’t think he would be able to handle the awkwardness that would come from him waking up with morning wood. He decides to keep his bottoms on, but he slides into the bed where Clarke pats for him to sleep. When he settles into the bed, he opens his arms for Clarke and she grins before sliding into them. She places her head on his shoulder and throws one of her arms across his side as he tightens his arms around her. There’s something that just makes him feel comfortable about holding Clarke like this, and he hopes they’re able to do this a lot more in the future.

“Good night, Princess.” His eyes are closed and he’s fighting sleep enough to tell her goodnight and kiss the top of her head. She sighs contently.

“Goodnight, Bellamy.” She snuggles in closer to him and kiss the left side of his chest, which feels like it leaves a scorch mark on his skin. He hums at the sweet gesture and pulls her closer.

_Yep, this is pretty damn amazing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I've missed writing this story. These two and Madi make my heart melt :)
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy watches Madi on campus and then dinner :)

Bellamy wakes up to his alarm blaring and he’s momentarily disoriented about where he is. The room is dark except for what little light is coming in through the curtains from the street lamps outside and there’s a body pressed up against him. He cuts his alarm off quickly and looks down at Clarke, hoping that it didn’t wake her up. She mumbles something but snuggles in closer to him and, god, if that doesn’t do something to him. _She’s adorable._

Unfortunately, Bellamy doesn’t have much time to get from her house, to his house, to campus so he can’t spend any extra time just resting with her. Though he definitely would if he could. He lets out a soft sigh and starts trying to make his way off the bed without waking up Clarke. He starts by sliding one leg off, then he carefully slides the rest of his body out and slowly moves Clarke’s arm that’s draped across his waist to the bed. Her eyebrows scrunch together and he smiles as he pulls the blanket up further. She burrows right into it.

He leans down and moves some hair out of her face then whispers into her ear. “I’ll see you later today, Princess.” He places a feather kiss to her hair and the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. _She’s really adorable. I’m such a goner_. Bellamy smiles and shakes his head as he picks up his shoes and makes his way towards her bedroom door. He has an hour and a half to get ready for a day on campus, and a twenty minute drive to his house and a twenty minute drive to campus.

Once he’s home, he heads straight to the kitchen to get something to eat and he jumps when he realizes that Miller is in there eating a bowl of cereal. Miller waves his spoon at him then digs back into his bowl while Bellamy takes out some left over food from the day before that Miller undoubtedly brought home.

“You’re up early.”

“Never went to sleep.” Miller yawns. “Murphy and Emori are passed out in the living room and Jasper and Maya are in the spare bedroom.”

“Jesus, I thought we were too old to be partying all night.”

“We are. But that doesn’t mean we can’t.” Miller smirks at him then motions towards his shirt. Bellamy looks down and realizes that he’s still wearing the Washington D.C. shirt that Clarke gave him to change into. “Isn’t the girl supposed to have her boyfriend’s shirt?”

“It was a shirt she gave me to sleep in. Which means she _does_ have my shirt.”

Miller holds up his hands. “Just asking.” He yawns again then finishes off his bowl of cereal and places it in the sink. He starts towards the stairs but turns around to look at Bellamy. “I like Clarke and, dude, Madi _seriously_ looks like your kid. You realize that right?”

Bellamy smiles. “You said that yesterday, Miller. I think you’re sleep deprived.” His friend looks at him for a second and then yawns again.

“Definitely.” He turns and heads towards the stairs. “Let me know how babysitting goes again.”

Bellamy laughs and shakes his head. He quickly wolfs down some food before heading upstairs to jump in the shower. Since he said that he would cover another history class, he has to be on campus earlier than usual and he’s regretting his decision to drink at all the day before because of it. Thankfully, he’s able to get to campus with enough time to go over his notes of what he’s supposed to be teaching and makes it to the classroom just in time for the other class to leave..

The hour couldn’t have gone by any slower than it had, and Bellamy is just counting down the minutes until he gets a call from Clarke. When the class lets out, Bellamy sends Clarke a quick text, hoping it’ll make her smile, then heads to his office so he can get ready for his own class.

_Good morning, beautiful. I’ll see you in a few hours :)_

While Bellamy makes his way through the crowds of students, his phone vibrates in his pocket and he pulls it out. The text makes his heart flutter.

_Yes, yes you will :)_

Bellamy is in his office, going over the key points he wants to make sure his students understand and gathering any extra material that might help them if they need it. He’s completely lost in the papers in front of him, which is why he doesn’t hear anyone come into his office until they sit down in the seat in front of him. When he looks up, Raven is smiling at him.

“Good morning, Blake.”

“Morning, Reyes.” Bellamy takes off his glasses and leans back in his chair. “What’re you doing so far from the lab?”

“I came to see you before your class started,” she says simply, “and before Clarke gets here.”

Then it clicks. “Are you coming to give me a warning about taking care of her and Madi? Because you’ve already done that.” Bellamy gives Raven a lopsided smile but there’s something off about the smile she gives him. “What’s going on in that devious head of yours, Reyes?”

Raven’s voice is firm, but he can tell she’s not as composed as she usually is. “I haven’t been home much because of my senior project and a lot of nights I’ll stay at Zeke’s because it’s easier to work there and it’s closer to campus, but…” Raven sighs. “I know we just had the get together yesterday, but that was mostly us meeting everyone and you and Clarke spending time together. I miss my best friend, and my niece. So, I’m here to unofficially invite you to dinner.”

“Unofficially?”

“Meaning, I don’t want you to tell Clarke that I came here and invited you because if she finds out that I did this just to spend more time with her, then she’ll feel bad even though there’s absolutely no reason for her to, that’s just how she is.”

Bellamy is pretty sure this is the first time he’s heard Raven talk this much unless she was ranting. But he knows where she’s coming from. Even though Octavia lives in the same town as him, they didn’t see each other very much when he first started graduate school and it weighed on him. “Dinner sounds great.”

“Awesome, I hope you don’t mind cooking with Zeke because as you should know by now, Clarke and I can barely cook anything.” Raven stands up and stretches.

“Yeah, she’s mentioned it.” Bellamy smiles.

“And not a peep out of you about it, yeah?”

“Don’t have to worry about me.” Bellamy holds his hands up and Raven smirks.

“Good. Now,” she leans against his desk and narrows her eyes at him, “take care of my goddaughter while her mom is in class because if she comes home and says she didn’t have a good time here I will come after you.”

“I’ve already watched her once successfully, haven’t I?” Bellamy crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. “You don’t need to threaten me every time, Raven. You know I’ll take care of them.”

Raven stands, her ponytail swishing behind her. “I know.” With a knowing smile, Raven turns and walks towards the door of his office. “Bye, Blake.”

“See you, Reyes.”

Bellamy tries to focus on the papers in front of him but the thought of getting to see Clarke within the next hour and a half, along with the fact that he would be watching Madi again, and the knew plan of dinner tonight has him too excited to focus on anything. Which is a problem when it comes time for him to teach his class. Thankfully, the PowerPoint slides keeps him on track well enough, but he forgets to mention the supplemental material and he nearly forgets to hand out the bonus quizzes during the last ten minutes of class. In the end, he figures he’ll just send an email about the supplemental material and as soon as the bell rings, he gathers his things and is the first person to leave the classroom before any of his students.

He’s just gotten into his office and put his things down when his phone lights up and Clarke’s name shows on the screen. He smiles and his heart does a little somersault. “Hello, Princess.”

“Hey, we’re here!” Clarke’s voice rings from the other side of the phone and he’s glad that her excitement mirrors his own.

“Oh, I’ll come meet y’all. Where did you park?”

“Stadium commuter lot.”

“My office is in the quad, I’ll be right there.”

“Okay, see you in a minute.”

“Yes, you will, Princess.”

When the call ends, Bellamy has to keep himself from sprinting out of the building. He has it _bad_ , and he knows it. He just doesn’t really care if he’s being honest. While he speed walks through the quad, he rolls up his shirt sleeves and tries to keep himself from smiling like an idiot but from some of the looks he gets, he knows he’s failing miserably.

When he reaches the hill by the auditorium, it’s not hard to spot Clarke close to the assembly center and he grins as soon as she notices him. His heart rate quickens before he jogs down to help her and her grin widens as he gets closer.

“Bell!” Madi sees him and grins, reaching for him. He notices the bag on Clarke’s other arm and knows how heavy it probably is, judging from how heavy her duffle bag had been at the airport, so he reaches out and takes Madi before she can reach even further and Clarke has a problem holding onto her.

“Hey, kiddo.” He smiles at Madi who gives him a hug before turning his attention towards Clarke. “Hey, babe.” He gives her a quick kiss and loves the pinkness that spreads across her cheeks. He reaches over and takes Madi’s toy bag from her and he can hear her audibly sigh in relief. As he expected, it’s pretty heavy and he’s surprised at her strength yet again.

“Hey,” Clarke smiles up at him. “You didn’t have to meet us, I know there’s probably a lot of students coming to talk to you.”

He leans down and whispers close to her ear. “But the two of you are more important.” _They really are_. It’s not like he has many students coming to his office hours just yet, but they might after the final exam.

Bellamy keeps hold of Madi in one arm and grabs onto Clarke’s hand with his other. He’s nearly thirty, he thought he would be past feeling this giddy, but here he is feeling like a teenager that’s getting to see their significant other at school. He guides them into the history building and up the four flights of stairs and into his office. It’s small, but not as small as some of the offices he’s been in over the years.

“Wow.” Clarke is taking in his office with a look of wonder on her face.

“It’s kind of cramped, but I try and make do.” He places the toy bag onto the couch then sets Madi down. She immediately starts wandering. The first place she goes is to the book shelves, but instead of pulling all of the books out, she just touches the spines. He’s had to take a few of those from August but it’s not a problem enough for him to actually move them.

“I hope you put some stuff up, she’ll get into everything.”

“Yeah, I baby-proofed it for August.”

“Bellamy!” Echo’s voice sounds through the hall and Bellamy has to suppress a groan. _Fuck. Not now._ He notices how Clarke starts at the sharp voice and Madi jumps and toddles over to where Bellamy is standing. _I know, she’s scary._ Madi grips his pants leg firmly as Echo opens the door to his office. The woman never knocks. “Bellamy, where—oh, I didn’t realize you have company.” Bellamy knows for a fact that she knew that he had company because he saw her head snap up when they passed her office.

“I do. Echo, this is my girlfriend Clarke, and her daughter Madi, girls, this is my colleague Echo.” Bellamy watches as she looks at Clarke and Madi, taking in the situation. He knows Echo has been trying to go out with him for a while, but she’s really not his type. Bellamy smiles a little when Clarke walks forward and holds out her hand.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Clarke’s smile is nice, despite Echo’s obvious unhappiness, and Bellamy wonders if she’s doing it on purpose. Echo stares at Clarke’s outstretched hand for a while, almost as if she’s going to turn away from it, but she ends up shaking it in the end. If she had blown off his girlfriend, their department meetings were going to get very awkward. Echo turns back to him.

“We really have to go over the project grades before the final.”

“Echo, we have a week.” Bellamy crosses his arms and leans against his desk, but the feeling of Madi still holding onto his pants leg gets his attention and he leans down, picking her up.

“Oh, I should head out.” She moves towards Bellamy and Madi and leans forward, moving some hair out of Madi’s face. Bellamy doesn’t want Clarke to leave so soon, but he knows that the whole reason why she’s here is because he offered to watch Madi while she’s in class. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Will you be good for Bellamy?” Madi nods her head and Clarke presses a kiss to her forehead. She turns her attention to Bellamy and smiles. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll see you when you get out of class,” Bellamy smiles and gives her a wink. He really wants to kiss her, but he knows if he does then Echo might blow a fuse and that’s not really something he wants Clarke or Madi to be around. Not that it’s _any_ of Echo’s business at all, but he knows she’s going to say something at some point.

Bellamy watches as Clarke has to squeeze herself past Echo and it causes anger to curl in his stomach. Echo watches as Clarke leaves and after a second, she looks back at him. He’s hoping that Echo wouldn’t be rude enough to start talking about Clarke with Madi in his arms, and he levels his gaze at her.

“We’ll talk about the project later. I have some work to do.” Bellamy stands and Madi rests her head against his shoulder. When Echo doesn’t leave, he tilts his head to the side. “Do you need anything else?”

Echo huffs then turns on her heel and walks back towards her office. Bellamy sighs and walks towards his door, only leaving it open a crack before walking towards the couch on the side of his office. He pulls Madi’s toy bag over and rests her in his lap.

“So, Madi, what do you want to do while your mom is in class?”

“Story!” Madi beams up at him and he smiles.

“And what story do you want to hear?”

“Hercules.” Madi says, still grinning. It’s adorable because it came out more like “herclees”.

“Alright, Hercules it is.” Bellamy stands with Madi still in his arms and picks up one of the few pictures book he bought for August that gives a more tame version of events like the Disney movie and unlike most of the books lining his shelves.

He goes takes to acting out some of the stories and Madi giggles the entire time. When the story is done, Madi tells him that they have to make up their own story which is how he ends up laying on his office floor with Madi trying to make a princess crown for her. He fails miserably, since he doesn’t have the same artistic abilities as Madi or Clarke, but Madi tells him it looks good all the same. _That’s her mother in her._

When Madi has enough of drawing, she pulls out a board game that Clarke packed, which is Candy Land, and he’s catapulted back to being a little kid and playing it with Octavia. Speaking of Octavia, she texts him about ten minutes into the game asking him how his second round of babysitting is going and he sends her a picture of Madi looking down at the board with the caption ‘ _she’s a much better person to play this game with’_.

Clarke texts Bellamy around the time she would be getting out of her first class.

 **Clarke:** Hey! Just wanted to make sure Madi wasn’t jumping off the walls of your office :)

 **Bellamy:** Are you texting during class, Ms. Griffin? That’s considered bad student etiquette and very rude.

 **Clarke:** I’m sorry, Mr. Blake, I promise to be on my best behavior from now on

That makes Bellamy’s heart skip a beat. He and Clarke haven’t done anything besides make out, but that’s not to say he doesn’t want to do more. He’s just waiting for the right time. He mentally chastises himself for even going there, but, damn, Clarke’s last text makes it pretty hard not to. Bellamy chuckles and shakes his head before pulling up his camera.

“Hey, Madi,” Madi looks up, “smile for mama.” Madi grins as wide as she can and Bellamy snaps the picture. Bellamy smiles at it before getting it ready to send to Clarke.

 **Bellamy:** We’re doing just fine :)

_Attachment: 1 image_

Bellamy can hear the clocktower chime the time and knows Clarke will be heading to her second class.

 **Clarke:** Yeah, it looks like it :) I’ll see you two in an hour!

Bellamy smiles at her text. He has another hour to spend with Madi and then Clarke will be back and maybe they can all do something before heading back to her house for dinner. He and Madi finish Candy Land, with Madi having won, and then she starts rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“You tired, little one?” Bellamy asks as he puts the board game back into it’s box and she nods her head, her eyes already drooping. “Well come here, let’s get you settled in for a nap.” Bellamy stands and picks up Madi, walking over to the couch. He lays her down and she immediately closes her eyes. Bellamy searches for a blanket or something that Clarke may have packed for her but he doesn’t see one so he takes his jacket from the back of his chair and drapes it across her.

“Good night, Madi,”

“Night night, Bell.” Madi murmurs then burrows deeper into his coat and goes to sleep.

Bellamy settles in at his desk with the stack of quizzes he needs to grade and gets to work, looking over at Madi every now and then to make sure she’s not cold or rolled towards the edge of the couch. Considering it was a bonus quiz before the semester ends, his students didn’t do that well on it and he begins to wonder if he messed up somewhere along the way when he was teaching the material.

After scanning the PowerPoints that he told his students to look over before the quiz, he finds that the answers were, in fact, on the PowerPoints and the reason why his students didn’t pass was probably because they didn’t bother to look at them over Spring Break. He knows he never did when he was in undergrad. Bellamy rests his head in his hands and then runs his fingers through his hair. “This is what happens when you have a quiz the day after a holiday,” he grumbles.

Deciding he needs a drink, he moves Madi closer to the back of the couch where it angles downwards, hoping it’ll be enough to keep her from rolling over in her sleep, then slips out his office door. There’s a vending machine down the hall and he’s dying for a soda. He doesn’t make it far when Echo comes out of her office.

“Bellamy, I need to talk to you.” Her voice is sharp and Bellamy has to keep himself from rolling his eyes at her.

“Can’t it wait, Echo?”

“Please.” That makes him stop. _Echo never says please_. Bellamy looks at her and sighs.

“Fine, but I only have five minutes.”

Echo steps out of her doorway and motions for him to go into her office. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks just inside the door. Thankfully, she doesn’t close it completely and he waits as she goes to her desk and sits on the edge of it.

“So, a girlfriend.”

“Why do you _care_ , Echo?” Bellamy groans.

“I’m just looking out for you, Bellamy.”

“I’m a big boy, Echo, I can look out for myself. What—”

“She’s a little young for you, don’t you think?” Echo’s eyes are piercing as she looks at him, but instead of the warmth he sees when he looks into Clarke’s, Echo’s are nothing but cold.

“It’s a five-year age gap, Echo, it’s nothing.” Bellamy tries to keep his voice from rising. Despite the fact that he didn’t see anyone in the hallway, he knows that voices can carry through the hall.

“She has a _kid_ , Bellamy, that’s a mess you should stay out of!” Echo hisses and Bellamy’s hand clenches around his bicep.

Back in high school, Bellamy had a lot of situations where he would talk to multiple girls, then end up getting with one of them, and ultimately have another girl get upset and confront him about it. But he had had something with those girls, even if it was just talking, he never had anything with Echo. There was when they were in the graduate program together and she flirted with him pretty hard, and he did a little in the beginning, but he never would’ve let it go anywhere. He flirted with a lot of girls without abandon and didn’t mind just blowing them off, but Echo got attached despite him telling her multiple times that he wasn’t interested. She was attractive, but not his type. Where Echo was all sharp edges and cold words, Clarke was like waking up to the sun.

“Listen, you don’t know Clarke and you don’t know her daughter. I’m not going to sit here and let you make assumptions and come to the wrong conclusions about a woman you don’t know, and an innocent child, out of _jealousy_.” Bellamy spits out the last word like it’s poison. “I’ll be damned if you’re going to try and wreck my relationship—”

“ _Bellamy—”_ Echo tries to interrupt him, but he’s on a roll.

“—all because you can’t stand the thought of me being happy with someone because that someone isn’t _you_. We have a work relationship, Echo, a good work relationship, and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

“ _Get out_.” The glare that Echo turns on him is murderous but he can’t find it in himself to give a damn.

He walks out of her office and shuts it behind him. His need for a soda forgotten, he starts back towards his office and looks down at his watch. _Clarke should be here soon._ Just the idea of getting to see Clarke is enough to lift his mood. The fact that Echo feels like it’s her _job_ to look after him makes him want to laugh. They don’t talk outside of work and when they are at work, they work well together. But that’s all it’ll ever be, like he said. A work relationship. When Bellamy pushes into his office, a familiar blonde is sitting in a seat at his desk and the anger he had been feeling disappears.

“Hey.” He smiles at her and she turns around to look at him.

“Hey, you okay?” Her voice is soft and he tilts his head to the side and his eyebrows furrow together. _Did she…_

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Um, just wondering…” The tips of Clarke’s ears turn red and Bellamy knows that she heard his conversation with Echo. He had hoped they were quiet enough but, as he’s gathered from Clarke, she probably stopped to listen.

“Princess, did you eavesdrop on my conversation?” He can’t hide the smirk that makes it’s way onto his face. They were talking about her and her daughter, so he can’t blame her for listening. He would’ve done the same thing had the roles been reversed.

“Maybe.” Clarke bites at her lower lip as she looks up at him. _She’s adorable._

“ _Maybe.”_ He walks towards her and the thought of just how much she might’ve heard comes into his mind. He leans down and braces one hand against his desk while the other rests on the back of the chair Clarke is sitting in. He leans in, close enough to where their noses are almost touching.

“Did you date her?” Clarke’s voice is low as she looks at him. He can see the gears turning in her head and he knows she must have questions. He’s more than happy to give them to her.

“No, there’s never been anything like that between us.” He holds her gaze.

“So, her feelings aren’t reciprocated?” Clarke looks down at her knotted up hands in her lap.

“Not in the slightest.”

Clarke brings her eyes back up to his. “Are you sure you want to get into this mess?” The way she says it, like it’s something she’s gotten used to hearing, makes his heart break for her. “Most people…” She trails off, like she doesn’t even want to finish what she had started saying and Bellamy doesn’t know if he would’ve been okay with hearing it.

“This isn’t a _mess_ , Clarke. It’s life.” He leans in a little closer, rubbing their noses together. “I don’t want anything else.” It’s crazy to think about, that he could have fallen for this woman and her daughter so quickly, but he knew that there was a chance of this becoming _more_. And he’s all for it.

Clarke looks at him for a beat before closing the small distance between the two of them. He’s caught off guard for a split second then he moves the hand he had placed on the back of the chair up to cup the back of her neck and pulls her towards him, deepening the kiss. She tastes like cinnamon and suddenly all he can think about is her warm mouth against his and the way she gives the quietest moan when she grips the front of his shirt. Kissing Clarke Griffin has become his favorite pastime. When they pull apart, he smiles at her. Her pupils are blown and there a smile on her face.

“Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“Mama?” Madi’s sleepy voice comes from the couch and Bellamy looks over and smiles.

“Then let’s get my girls fed.”

Bellamy decides to carry Madi since the food trucks are on the other side of campus, and he keeps Clarke’s hand firmly grasped in his. He wonders if they would’ve eventually found each other at some point on campus, if maybe she would’ve taken one of his classes, but he’s happy that they found each other in the airport.

On the way to the food truck, Bellamy takes to pointing out some of the buildings to Madi and she smiles and points every time she sees a squirrel. They see one squirrel hanging out on one of the railings to a building and Madi squeals when it lifts up on his back legs and sniffs in their direction.

“Mama, look!” Madi points to a bird that’s sitting on a low hanging tree branch of one of the oak trees. “Birdie.”

“It is a birdie!” Clarke smiles and looks over at her daughter. “And what does a birdie say?”

“Tweet tweet!” Madi says triumphantly then turns back towards the bird.

“Very good, baby! Tweet tweet.” Clarke turns and looks at Bellamy, smiling. “Tweet tweet.”

“Tweet tweet.” Bellamy echoes then bends over to kiss the side of Clarke’s head. She giggles and leans into him more as they continue to walk, and Bellamy is pretty sure the smile never leaves his face.

When they get to the food trucks, Madi sees the black and yellow one and excitedly exclaims “cheese!” and Clarke walks over to get her a grilled cheese, despite Bellamy’s instance that he’ll buy them both lunch, so he goes and stands in the other food truck line and makes sure he pays for his and Clarke’s food before Clarke can pull out her card to pay for hers.

“Gotta be quicker than that, babe.” Bellamy winks at her and she just snorts and shakes her head.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Bellamy smiles down at her and she leads him and Madi towards one of the picnic tables under an oak tree. “So, how were your classes?”

“They were good. My final painting is coming along really well and the teacher says that she can’t wait to see my finished pieces together. English was okay, I still have a paper I need to write though I’m sure I can knock it out in a couple of hours if I really sat down and focused on it.” Clarke pops a French fry into her mouth and smiles at him. “How about you?”

“I started grading the quizzes I gave out today and I had to stop because pretty much all of the ones I’ve graded, which is around ten, are all D’s and F’s.” Bellamy groans. “I don’t know why I decided to give a quiz the day after Spring Break, I know I always hated when my instructors did that.”

“Yeah, we hate it in the beginning because we’re lazy but I think giving quizzes after a break is a good thing since it forces you to keep the material fresh in your mind. Now, if it’s a test after a holiday, I don’t like those but that’s because of Madi. I liked them my first semester, though, because I didn’t have much to do except study. Except during my second semester it was hard with all of the doctor visits and pregnancy symptoms.”

Bellamy leans forward and rests his elbows on the table, smiling at Clarke. “Have I told you just how amazing you are?”

Clarke stops chewing and he can see her cheeks turns pink. “I am?”

“I remember when my mom was pregnant with O, she wasn’t able to do much. She was a waitress and a seamstress but when she got into her third trimester it was hard for her to move around so it resulted in her staying home and taking alterations in her living room. I couldn’t imagine coming to campus and actually walking around and sitting in class every day.”

The blush on Clarke’s cheeks deepen and she looks up at him through her eyelashes, smiling a little. “Thank you.” She leans against the picnic table too, mimicking him. “It was easier because I had Raven. She’s really been a rock for me over the years.”

“I could imagine.” Bellamy smiles. The memory of his conversation with Raven earlier that morning comes back into his mind and he realizes just how much the two of them care about each other.

“Mama, I done.” Madi hands her empty tray to Clarke who smiles.

“And you made a happy plate! High five.” Madi gives her mom an enthusiastic high five and Clarke leans over and gives her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “I just wish it had been slightly healthier.”

“I have some fruit in my mini fridge for emergencies, she can have some of it.”

“Really?” Clarke turns her piercing blue eyes towards him and his heart stutters.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thanks.” Clarke smiles and his heart nearly stops.

Bellamy smiles too and nods his head before getting his trash together. “I’m sorry I had to leave so early this morning.”

“No need to apologize, I understand. You had to get ready for class.”

“But I still enjoyed yesterday, and last night.” _Really enjoyed it._

“Me too.” The grin that Clarke gives him makes him think that she may have enjoyed it as much as he did. Even though nothing happened, waking up next to her was something he wanted to do a lot more.

After they throw their trash away, they start the ten minute walk back to his office. Madi insists on holding both of their hands this time while they walk and they end up swinging her between them while she laughs. Madi is always bright smiles and contagious laughter, so is her mom, and Bellamy always feels himself smile a little brighter when he hears it.

As they get closer to his office, he begins to wonder if Clarke would be up for staying with him a little longer. He promised Raven he’d show up for dinner, so even if Clarke went home he could probably ask if he could come by, though he doesn’t know if she would question it or not. When they walk back into his office, he eyes the big stack of papers on his desk and knows that he’ll have to at least try to make a dent in it before he leaves if he wants to feel like he can actually rest later this evening.

“Hey, I had an idea.” He says once he sits down in his chair. “I was wondering, would you—I don’t know, want to hang out here for a little while?” He doesn’t want to push something that she may not want, since how many people would willingly camp out in an office if they didn’t have to, but Clarke smiles and any nerves he had been experiencing melt away.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She takes the seat across from him.

“Really?” He can’t help the grin that spreads across his face.

“Of course.”

“Great.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I just really like being around you,” he says, looking up at her through his eyelashes.

“Me too.” She grins back at him. Good thing they both feel the same way.

Bellamy takes his time to peel and cut and apple for Madi and then he gets to work on grading more of his quizzes. He also sends out an email with the supplemental material but he decides to hold off on the email about quiz grades until he finishes them. Clarke sits across from him with her laptop sitting on his desk and a notebook in her lap as she works on her English paper.

They work in silence while Madi draws on the floor beside them, but Bellamy is finding it a little hard to really focus on the papers he has in front of him with Clarke sitting a couple feet away. He peeks up at her and smiles at the look of concentration she has on her face as she gazes at her computer screen. Her eyebrows are furrowed together and her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, and she’s twirling her pencil around in her hands.

Clarke must sense him looking at her because she looks up and smiles. Bellamy can feel the tips of his ears heat up at the fact that she caught him staring but, oh well, he really can’t help it. He turns his attention back to the quiz that’s half graded and he suppresses a groan. If he has to grade one more quiz that’s below a B he’s pretty sure he’s going to throw all of them in the trash.

“Bell, look.” Madi crawls next to his chair and hands him a drawing she had been working on. It’s a picture of the squirrel they saw earlier with what he assumes is an acorn on top of its head.

“It’s wonderful, Madi.”

“Here.” She hands the paper to him. “It’s yours.”

“Well, thank you. I’ll put it up on my wall right now.” Bellamy grabs a couple pieces of tape and stands up. He places it on the wall to the side of all of the postcards that Octavia and Lincoln had sent him during their honeymoon in Europe. When he sits back down, Madi is grinning up at the place where her picture is hanging and immediately gets to work drawing another one.

This time, Bellamy feels Clarke looking at him and he looks over at her in time to see her eyes settle onto her computer screen and a smile spread across her lips. _It’s like we’re teenagers._ Bellamy smiles too then turns his attention back to the papers he needs to get through.

They spend two hours in his office and by the end of it, a butterfly and a bird have joined Bellamy’s wall of growing artwork from Madi and he loves them. He sees Clarke looking at all of his postcards, moving around his desk to get a better look, and he smiles at her.

“O and Lincoln went backpacking across Europe for their honeymoon and O made sure to send me a postcard from every city they visited. I actually have more at home, these are just the major cities.”

“I’d like to visit Europe one day.”

“Me too. I want to see Rome and Greece.” Actually, Bellamy wants to travel all over Europe if given the chance, but Rome and Greece are his top two places he wants to see.

“The Coliseum and Parthenon, in particular?” Clarke raises an eyebrow at him and he smiles down at her.

“You already know me so well.” Bellamy wraps an arm around her waist and brings her closer. He can feel her breath hitch since her chest stops moving and his eyes flick to her lips.

“Hmm…you still surprise me.” Her words make him think of that night on their couch.

“So do you.” He leans down and gives her a slow, soft kiss. “You ready to get out of here?”

Clarke grins. “Let’s go.”

Bellamy tells Clarke that they can walk to his truck and he’ll drive her and Madi to her car since his truck is close and her car is kind of a walk. He carries his own bag and Madi’s toy bag while Clarke carries Madi and grabs his hand with her free one. Bellamy may or may not have also offered to carry her backpack but she told him that he was her boyfriend, not a pack mule, and that she could carry her backpack and her daughter a few yards. But she really appreciated the gesture and gave him a kiss telling him that he was a real gentleman.

Clarke buckles Madi into the car seat while Bellamy places their bags into his truck, then the two of them get in and he drives Clarke to her car. The thing about having and educator’s pass, is that he could get through all of the security booths without having to take the only two roads that were open to the public to get to her car. And it was a lot better than walking. When he pulls into the spot next to her car, he can see Clarke hesitating about what they’re doing.”

“How about I just follow you home?”

Clarke grins. “Sounds good to me.”

Bellamy helps her get their things out of his vehicle and into hers, and then they’re off to her house. He already knows what’s going to happen tonight, but he needs to make it seem like he doesn’t. After a fifteen minute drive because of the traffic, they pull into Clarke’s driveway and he’s surprised there’s enough room for four vehicles to fit. Bellamy helps Clarke get everything out of her car and then they push their way into her house.

He can hear the sounds of a video game being played in the living room when they walk in, and when he can see the T.V., he grimaces at how badly Zeke is getting his ass kicked. As soon as Madi sees Raven sitting on the couch, she makes a straight lines towards her and jumps into her lap.

“Hey pipsqueak.” Raven kisses the top of Madi’s head without taking her eyes off the screen, but the smile on her face tells her she’s happy they’re home. “How was class, Clarke?”

“Painting was fun, English? Not so much.” Clarke sighs and sets her backpack on the counter. “Who’s winning?”

“Who do you think?” Zeke mumbles from beside Raven. Bellamy glances at the T.V. again. The score is 10 to 32 and there’s no way that Zeke will be able to recover from it. “Oh, hey, Bellamy.” Zeke looks over and gives him a nod and the few seconds that it takes him to do so, Raven takes him out on the screen. He lets out a long string of curses.

“Watch the language, there’s a child present.” Raven chides and Zeke sends Clarke an apologetic look. Then he gets killed again. “But I figured you would both be here, so let’s all have dinner together.” Bellamy has to hand it to Raven, she’s playing everything so nonchalantly that he might’ve even forgotten that she’s the whole reason why he made sure to be here in the first place.

“And who would be cooking this dinner?” Clarke looks at Raven quizzically, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“That would be us.” Zeke motions between himself and Bellamy, giving up on trying to win the game. “Do you know that these girls can burn anything? Like literally anything. They burnt cereal once and I don’t know how that happened.” 

“That was one time!” Raven let’s out an exasperated sigh right before lining Zeke’s player in her crosshairs and shooting. “I win. So, y’all up for it?” Raven turns her attention back towards Clarke and Bellamy. The two of them look at each other and shrug.

“Sounds like fun.” Bellamy gives Clarke a smile. _It’s what he agreed to this morning._

“I can help!” Madi chirps from her place on Raven’s lap. 

“You want to be our helper?” Zeke smiles at Madi and she nods her head. “Can she?”

”I don’t see why not. Apparently she’s the best helper ever.” Clarke glances at Bellamy and he tries to fight the growing smile on his face.

“That settles it then!” Zeke stands up and lifts Madi off Raven’s lap. “This is mine now.” He says to Raven before maneuvering Madi onto his back. “To the kitchen!”

“Kitchen!”

“Isn’t it a little early to be cooking dinner?” Raven calls from the couch and the two boys stop to look at each other.

“Did she just say it’s too early for food?” Zeke’s eyebrows almost reach his hairline.

“I think she did.”

“You’re always hungry for food, Raven.” Zeke points out and Bellamy tries not to chuckle.

“Come on, Raven, let’s leave the men to their cooking duties.” Clarke slides into the couch beside her friend and Bellamy can see just how happy the two of them are to have some time together.

“As you wish, Princess.” Bellamy does a mock bow then turns his attention towards Zeke and Madi who have already started pulling things out of the cabinets. Zeke sets Madi down on the counter and braces himself in front of her so she doesn’t fall.

“So, have any idea what we should make them for dinner?” Zeke asks as he pulls out a pan from under the stove.

“I don’t know, what do they like.” Bellamy pulls out a wooden spoon from where it was resting in it’s holder and starts twirling it around.

“How about we do spaghetti?”

“I made spaghetti like a week ago. How about shrimp fettuccine?” Bellamy points the spoon towards Zeke, waiting for a response, when Zeke picks up a spoon and points it at him.

“Sounds good to me.” The two of them start having a wooden spoon sword fight while Madi giggles from her place on the counter.

“Do they like shrimp fettuccine?” Bellamy asks before he glances over at Madi who’s picked up a spatula and is waving it around.

“Those girls will eat anything we set in front of them.” Zeke grins and looks over at his girlfriend. “She can’t cook at all, but she will eat absolutely everything. I once saw her take down a burger that was bigger than her head.”

Bellamy laughs and picks up Madi from her place on the counter. “I have a feeling this one is going to be the same way.” Bellamy smiles at Madi and she grins.

“Cook time!”

“Cook time!” The guys agree enthusiastically and then they get to work getting all the ingredients together.

They get the water boiling in one pot while Zeke gets to work cutting the shrimp. Madi had wanted to help but the two of them agreed that it would probably be best to keep her occupied while Zeke got the shrimp ready so she wasn’t trying to grab a knife, which is why Bellamy pulled out his phone and started making shadow animals on the wall.

He sat Madi down on the kitchen island and moved to where he was slightly in front of her and then cast a dog onto the kitchen wall. “What does a dog say, Madi?”

“Woof!”

“Right, a dog says woof.” Bellamy moves his fingers to make it seem as if his shadow dog is barking then goes into a soft howl. “Ooooo.”

“Oooo.” Madi giggles.

“Alright, and there’s a rabbit.”

“A rabbit goes,” Bellamy looks over at Madi and she scrunches up her face, trying to move her nose.

“Yeah, it does.” Bellamy grins. “Can you hold the light for me, please?” Madi nods and he gives her his phone, keeping it pointing directly at the wall while he makes a bird. “And a bird says?”

“Tweet tweet!”

“Tweet tweet.” Bellamy does a fluttering motion with the birds wings and makes it fly out of the light.

“Tweet tweet.” Zeke turns around, wiping his hands on a towel. “I think the girls have some birds.” He reaches over and ruffles Madi’s hair. “Shrimp’s all done.”

“Perfect.” Bellamy scoops Madi up and they walk over to the stove. “Alright, Madi, let’s cook.” Madi nods excitedly and the guys smile as they get everything going.

While they cook, they take turns holding Madi and getting her to help them with what they’re each doing. Zeke helps her stir the pot of noodles that’s boiling, careful to keep her far enough away from the pot, and Bellamy holds her and helps her move around the sauce in the pan. He’s not entirely sure where the flour comes from exactly, or how Madi gets to it, but soon enough he gets blindsided by a handful of flour being tosses into his hair. He sputters and looks over and Zeke and Madi are both grinning.

He laughs and can see Clarke move out of the corner of his periphery so he turns and winks at her. She smiles and shakes her head slightly before turning back towards Raven and telling her something. He likes how relaxed the two of them seem. Clarke is relaxing into the cushions and Raven has her legs across Clarke’s lap while she massages them. Then a thought pops into his head.

Bellamy shakes the flour out of his hair and into the sink before joining Zeke back at the stove. “So, how did you and Raven meet?”

“We met in the lab.” Zeke smiles. “I had joined the air force right out of high school and when my time was up I came back to college.” _So Zeke is close to my age._ “I was used to my superiors telling me what to do, so you could imagine the headbutting that came from a girl that was younger than me telling me how to fix a machine.” Zeke laughs at the memory and Bellamy can feel himself smile.

“Yeah, Raven is pretty commanding when it comes to her work.”

“Tell me about it.” Zeke shakes his head then stirs the noodles. “It was months of us butting heads and me telling her to leave me alone to do my job, then one night our boss wanted us to stay late to finish a project and maybe it was the result of us being exhausted from working so much but we just ended up talking and I found that, despite all of the argument we had done, I liked her.” Zeke looks over at Raven who is laughing at something Clarke said. “She’s pretty damn amazing, and she’s also terrifying when she wants to be.” He looks at Bellamy. “I’m sure you can probably guess how that night ended.”

“Yeah, I think I got it.” He looks over at Raven too and he hears a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that maybe Zeke should know about him and Raven’s one night together, but then he doesn’t know how the other guy will react.

“And, uh, not to make this weird but I know the two of you slept together a while back. It was a long time ago so I don’t care, I just figured I’d let you know that things are cool. Don’t want any awkwardness, you know what I mean?”

Bellamy is stunned for what seems like a solid minute until his mind starts working again. “Yeah, man, I get it. So, we’re good?”

“We’re good.” Zeke pats him on the shoulder and they both get back to food that’s almost done. “Besides, with how you and Clarke act with each other, I’m sure neither of you are thinking about anyone else.”

“Nope,” Bellamy smiles. “Definitely not.”

Before long, the food is done and they’re all gathering around the dinner table with Madi sitting in Raven’s lap and Zeke sitting next to here while Bellamy sits across from him and next to Clarke. The girls praise the guys’ cooking and from the little noises Clarke is making, he’s glad she’s enjoying it. He glances over at her and she shoves a large forkful into her mouth and turns to look at him with chipmunk cheeks. He chuckles and she gives him a small smile before turning away to chew her food.

“So, Blake, what are your intentions with my best friend?” Raven quirks an eyebrow at him from the other side of the table and he chokes on the glass of wine that he had been taking a sip of. He figured that Raven would grill him at some point, aside from the threatening she had done, he just didn’t expect her to do it over dinner with Clarke sitting right next to him. Clarke starts patting his back as she glares at her friend, but Raven on shrugs. “What? As your closest friend and confidant I need to know these things.”

After Bellamy is sure that he’s not going to snort any wine out of his nose and his airways are clear again, he turns to Raven. “I want our relationship to continue, I love being around her, and Madi, and,” he turns to look at Clarke, a small smile playing on his lips, “and I’m having more fun than I thought I could ever have at this point.”

“Hmm…good answer,” Raven looks at him for a second. “Okay, so what about—”

“Babe, maybe wait to interrogate the man until dinner is over.” Zeke smiles at his girlfriend and Raven seems to consider this before nodding.

“Okay, I can do that,” she points her fork at Bellamy. “You’re safe for now.”

Bellamy turns to Clarke and he can feel himself getting nervous at just how much Raven is going to interrogate him, but Clarke giggles and leans over to whisper in his ear. “She’s just being Raven, don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Clarke rests her chin on his shoulder and reaches up to move a strand of hair behind her ear and smirks.

“I don’t doubt that, Princess.” He smiles.

After dinner is over, Clarke and Raven say that they’ll clean the dishes since the guys cooked, but they only had the plates and forks to clean since Zeke and Bellamy had already washed the pots and skillets they used. The guys help them clean up and before long, Madi gets her bath and then Bellamy and Clarke are putting her to bed and joining Raven and Zeke out in the living room.

“So, back to our conversation from earlier,” Raven sits up from where her head had been laying in Zeke’s lap and turns her attention to Bellamy. He and Clarke had taken up the loveseat with his arms resting on the back of the couch and Clarke’s legs thrown across his lap. “You’ve already been on one date, to the diner, so when exactly are you going to bring her on another date?”

“I could bring him on a date.” Clarke raises her eyebrows at her friend but Raven smirks.

“Bellamy is incapable of letting anyone do anything for him, so he’ll be the one bringing you on a date or else he’ll protest.” Raven turns to Bellamy and tilts her head to the side. “So, _are_ you going to go on another date?”

“Of course.” Bellamy looks over and smiles down at Clarke. “I definitely plan on it.”

“Okay, so what exactly are you going to do on the date?”

“I’m not sure. I can always come up with stuff I think we’d both enjoy but ultimately I don’t want to plan much without Clarke’s input.”

“Good answer.” Raven gives him a small smile. “I know the two of you haven’t done anything past making out, so is there the possibility of you _doing_ her on said date? Because—”

“Alright, Raven, babe, I think it’s time for us to go to bed.” Zeke stands up and pulls Raven up after him, not giving her time to process what’s happening before he’s guiding her towards the hallway.

“Zeke!”

“Come on,” Zeke leans over and whispers something in Raven’s ear that makes her eyes darken and Bellamy has to bite back a laugh.

“Okay. But Bellamy—”

“Take care of your girls or you’ll kill me, I know, Raven.” Bellamy waves Raven off.

“Have fun getting laid!” Clarke calls after her friend and her boyfriend and then she goes into a fit of giggles, burying her face into the couch.

“Well, that was not what I expected.” Bellamy let’s out a laugh and Clarke looks at him.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She smiles. The clock in her house chimes the hour and Bellamy realizes just how late it’s gotten. “Oh my god, we completely lost track of time! I’m sorry to have kept you so late.” Clarke stands up and goes over to the fridge. “Here, I put this aside earlier.” She pulls out a container of leftover shrimp fettuccine.

“Thank you.” Bellamy leans down and gives her a soft kiss.

“I had fun today.” Clarke says as she wraps her arms around his neck. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Hmm…maybe Wednesday?” Bellamy wraps his arms around her waist.

“You read my mind.” Clarke smirks before leaning up on her tippy toes and pressing her lips to his. When they break apart, he’s caressing her cheek with his thumb.

“Clarke, do you want to go on a date with me?”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Clarke’s tone is light and Bellamy’s mouth drops open in shock. “Okay, I’ll go on another date with you.”

“Oh, good, otherwise this would be awkward.” They both laugh and Bellamy finds that he really doesn’t want to leave. But while they’re on the topic of their second date, he has something he needs to ask. “I was wondering, could it—I don’t know, could it just be the two of us?” His heart is pounding in his ears as he waits for her response, and Clarke leans up and kisses him.

“Of course.”

“Really?” He had thought that he may have been breaking some unspoken rule, but he’s glad that she agrees. It’s not that he doesn’t want Madi with them, he just feels like it could be good to have some time to themselves.

“Yeah, I mean, a parent needs some alone time without their kid every now and then.” Clarke plays with the hair at the nape of his neck and he lets out a sigh of relief.

“Do you think Madi will be okay with it?” He looks towards Madi’s bedroom and the thought of hurting Madi by not bringing her with them makes sadness pool in his stomach.

“It’ll be fine, Bellamy, I’ll talk to her.” Clarke smiles.

“Okay, then. So it’s a date?”

“A date.” Clarke walks him to the door and he steals one more kiss before making his way towards his truck. He’s just about to get in when Clarke calls after him. “Hey, will you text me when you get home?”

“You worried about me, babe?” Bellamy teases and he can see nod.

“I wouldn’t be able to sleep.” Clarke says softly and his heart threatens to beat out of his chest at how sincere she is.

“I’ll text you.” He gives her a warm smile and blows her a kiss. “Dream of me.”

Clarke grins. “Maybe.”

Bellamy chuckles then gets into his truck and pulls out of her driveway. When he’s on the road he looks back and can still see her shadowy form watching him. He doesn’t know if she can see him, but he waves goodbye to her anyway and then he starts his journey home.

When he gets through his front door, Miller is walking down the stairs and he eyes the left over food that Clarke had sent him home with. “Please tell me that’s for me.”

“Yeah, here.” Bellamy hands over the food and miller pops the lid open, eating it with his fingers. “Need a fork?”

Miller shakes his head. “No, but we need groceries.” Miller stuffs another bite into his mouth. “I thought I was going to eat cereal for dinner.”

“I thought we just bought groceries?”

“Yeah, but we also went over to Monty and Harper’s yesterday and we brought some of the food over there before the girls brought food back from the store.”

“Oh shit.” Bellamy had completely forgotten about that. He runs a hand through his hair then makes his way towards the kitchen, throwing open the fridge. They have the bare essentials, but they _definitely_ need to go back to the store. “We can go tomorrow when you get off work.”

“Aw, you want to go grocery shopping with me?” Miller teases and Bellamy rolls his eyes. “Will Clarke be coming?”

“I’m not going to bring her to the grocery store to get groceries for _our house_ , Miller.”

“Hey, just thought I’d ask,” Miller pops a shrimp into his mouth, “it just seems like the two of you want to be around each other as much as possible.”

Well, he can’t deny that. “I’m going to bed.” Bellamy mumbles then turns on his heel and heads towards his room. He peels off his work clothes from that day and sighs when he gets down to his boxers before putting on his glasses and turning on his T.V. He plugs in his phone then pulls up his text conversation with Clarke.

**Clarke Griffin**

**Bellamy:** I’m home, baby

_Attachment: 1 image_

He sends her a picture of him in bed with his glasses on and a lopsided smile.

 **Clarke:** I like those glasses :)

 **Bellamy:** Maybe I’ll wear them more :)

 **Clarke:** Please do :)

 **Bellamy:** As you wish :) goodnight, Princess

 **Clarke:** Goodnight, handsome

Bellamy is pretty sure he’s never had anyone actually tell him that he looks good in his glasses before, but if that’s how Clarke feels then maybe he’ll make it a point to wear them around her more. He turns his T.V. down and turns off the light on his nightstand. He can feel sleep trying to pull him under, but he just can’t stop thinking about Clarke and Madi.

When he finally drifts off, his dreams are nothing but them. And he can’t say that he minds one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I had originally thought it would be lol 
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellarke's second date :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the day late update, but things have been a little crazy around here lol 
> 
> I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes!

On Tuesday, Bellamy and Miller go to the store to grab more groceries and when they get back it seems as if Octavia made a surprise visit to drill Bellamy about Clarke’s visit with Madi. She helped them bring the groceries inside and then perched herself on top of the counter and watched as Bellamy and Miller put the groceries up while eating a few grapes that Bellamy had just bought.

“Well we all know you’re a good babysitter, Bell, so that’s no surprise.” Octavia mumbles around a mouthful of grapes. “Did you get in trouble for babysitting during your office hours?”

“No, no one said anything about that.” Bellamy turns and puts some bread into the bread holder.

“I feel a _but_ coming on.” Miller teases and Bellamy looks between his sister and his best friend.

“But, Echo had a few things to say about me dating Clarke.”

“She has no reason to be nosing around in your personal life.” Octavia leans forward and narrows her eyes. “What the fuck did she have to say?”

“That Clarke was too young for me, that she was just looking out for me, and if I wanted to get into the ‘mess’ of being with a single mom that has a kid.”

“She didn’t.” Miller stops in his tracks, his eyes wide. “I _told you_ not to flirt with her during your first year of grad school, but you didn’t fucking listen. She’s psycho, man.”

“Yeah, I realized that.” Bellamy leans against the fridge and runs his hands over his face. Octavia is being suspiciously quiet so he narrows his eyes at her. “O?”

“Echo has no fucking right to say that about Clarke when she doesn’t even know her! And to bring _Madi_ into this? She’s a child!” Octavia hops off the counter and starts walking around the kitchen. “The next time I see her on campus, she better go in the opposite direction.”

“O, it’s over. She’s not going to say anything else.”

Octavia’s eyes snap towards Bellamy and he can tell that she put herself in Clarke’s position. Octavia was the only other person who had a kid, so he was sure this hit a little close for her. “It’s not over until I talk to her, Bellamy.”

“If you want to talk to her, then there’s nothing I can do to stop you, but please don’t ruin my work life.”

“Of course not, big brother.” Octavia gives him a sweet smile but he can see the fire burning behind her eyes.

“Alright.” Bellamy nods then goes back to putting up the groceries. “Now, what do we have for lunch?”

 

* * *

 

Wednesday morning, Bellamy is in his office going over his notes for his class when there’s a knock on his door. He looks up, pushing his glasses up as he does so, and sees Echo standing in the doorway with a stack of papers in her hands. He takes his glasses off and rubs the bridge of his nose.

“We still have the project grades to go over.” Echo’s voice is clipped and Bellamy can see that she’s still seething from the other day. Then again, so is he.

“Right now? I’m preparing for my class.” Bellamy leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.

“You didn’t want to go over the grades Monday, and we have today, tomorrow, and Friday to get them in before the exam unless you would like to have to go over grades during your weekend. And I don’t think you do.” Echo’s eyes were narrowed and Bellamy could feel himself trying to reign in the anger that was threatening to bubble to the surface.

“We have an hour and a half until I need to leave, I’m sure we can get it done in that time.”

Echo gives him a sharp nod then walks from the doorway to the chair on the other side of his desk. He moves the papers he had been looking at off to the side and pulls out his own students’ projects and lays them out. To say that the air between them is tense is putting it mildly, but what helps him relax is the fact that they both seem to be able to be civil with one another when it comes to doing their jobs.

The two of them spend an hour going over the projects and deciding what to deduct points for and what to be lenient with. Things had been going well, and he forgot about Octavia wanting to visit until she burst through his office door without knocking.

Echo shoots her a dirty look but Octavia ignores it, smiling at Bellamy. “Hey, big brother.” Octavia’s eyes drift towards Echo and he can see her features darken. “Oh, I didn’t know you were busy.” She smiles at Echo. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Echo didn’t smile at Octavia, but more grimaced and a new flare of anger sparked in his chest.

“I think I’m going to run to the vending machine and get something to drink, do you want anything?” Bellamy looks at Echo and she shakes her head.

“No thank you.”

“What about me?” Octavia tilts her head to the side and Bellamy smirks.

“I know you want a sprite, O.”

“Yeah.” Octavia smiles and Bellamy slides past her, making his way down the hall. He looks over his shoulder and can tell that his sister has slipped into his room and closed his door. He doesn’t want it to seem as if he and his sister planned for Octavia to ‘talk’ to Echo, but he also wants to give her enough time to where she can get everything out that she needs to say.

Strangely enough, the vending machine at the end of the hall is out of order so he has to go down to the first floor, down six flights of stairs and back, to get the drinks. By the time he reaches his office door, he can’t hear any voices on the other side of it and he pushes it open. Octavia is sitting in his chair with her arms folded across her chest while Echo mirrors her stance on the other. Despite Octavia’s height, she looks like she’s nearly the other woman’s height as she stares her down, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

“Vending machine was out of order so I had to go downstairs to get the drinks. Sorry it took so long.” Bellamy walks towards Octavia and hands her the Sprite.

“No worries.”

“Well, I think we’ve gone through all of the project papers, any other details we may have missed can be talked about later but I also have to get ready for my class.” Echo stands up, gathering her papers. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Echo nods to Bellamy and Octavia then slips out his office door, closing it behind her. Bellamy stares at the door for a moment before blinking a few times and turning back to his little sister. Octavia’s grinning like she knows something he doesn’t and he raises an eyebrow at her.

“What?”

Her grin widens. “I’m the one who put the out of order sign on the vending machine.”

He doesn’t even want to ask her about what she said.

 

* * *

 

Now it’s Friday and after another day of getting to watch Madi and bring her and Clarke out for lunch, Bellamy is excited about what he has planned for tonight. He had called Raven after he got home Wednesday evening and asked if she would be able to watch Madi tonight so he could bring Clarke out on their second date, and she instantly said yes. She tried pressing him for details about where he would be taking Clarke, but he didn’t budge. He wanted it to be a surprise.

He noticed the happy look on Clarke’s face when he asked if she wanted to go out tonight, and how surprised she had been when he told her that he had already arranged for Raven to babysit. He had thought this idea through for a bit, wondering if it would be the best idea to bring her to a paintball arena, but after some encouragement from Octavia and Miller, he decided to go with it.

Bellamy checks the time on his dash and sees that he’s fifteen minutes early, as usual, and wonders if he should wait a few more minutes before ringing her doorbell. Despite all of the time they’ve spent together, his heart is still threatening to beat out of his chest and his hands are a little sweaty. _I’m not a teenager anymore_. He runs his hands through his hair then cuts off his truck, hoping out and walking up to Clarke’s front door.

When he rings the doorbell, he can instantly hear the patting of little feet against the floor along with the sound of Clarke following behind her after a second. When they stop in front of the door and the doorknob turns, the smile that had been on Bellamy’s face widens.

“Bell!” Madi jumps up and down and he bends over to pick her up.

“Hey, little one.”

“I helped mama dress.” Madi smiles at him and Bellamy looks over at Clarke and her outfit.

“You did a good job.” Bellamy moves further into the house and wraps his free arm around Clarke’s waist. “Hello, Princess.”

“Hi.” Clarke breathes out and Bellamy leans over and gives her a kiss.

“Did he just call her Princess?” The two of them break apart. _Not Zeke_.

“Shh!” _Definitely Raven._

Bellamy pulls back farther, his eyebrows knitting together before looking back at Clarke and giving her a lopsided smile. “I think you have mice.”

Clarke rolls her eyes and giggles before slipping her hand in his and starting towards the kitchen. “I have a mouse you need to meet.”

When the three of them come into the kitchen, he sees Raven and a guy he’s never met before trying so hard to look normal that he can’t help but chuckle at the sight. Something clicks in his mind and suddenly, Bellamy feels as if he knows the man in front of him before Clarke even says anything.

“Bellamy, this is my best friend—”

“Hey!” Raven gives Clarke a hurt look and Clarke smiles.

“Okay this is my _first_ ever best friend Wells Jaha, Wells, this is my boyfriend Bellamy Blake.”

If Bellamy had known that her childhood best friend was coming into town, he would have picked a better night for the two of them to go out, but from the looks of it, Clarke hadn’t known he was coming in either. _At least she hasn’t called off the date._ Bellamy and Wells look at each other then they both reach out at the same time to shake each other’s hand.

“Nice to finally meet you, Clarke’s talked about you a lot.” And she really had. Almost all of her stories from her childhood included her best friend Wells and now he was finally meeting the guy who Clarke claimed was like her brother.

“Don’t believe anything, she’s a bad influence.” Wells holds up his hands and Clarke punches him in the shoulder. 

“You were always thinking the same thing, it just took me to say ‘hey, let’s go’ for you to actually do it.” She rolls her eyes but Bellamy can see the love in it.

“So, where are the two of you going?” Raven asks from her place against the counter. Bellamy puts Madi down who wanders over to where she is.

“It’s a surprise.” Bellamy grins.

“You still won’t tell me?” Clarke looks up at him.

“Nope.”

“Please.” She pouts.

“You’re adorable, but nope.” He tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “But we should get going, we don’t want to be late.” He takes Clarke’s hand and turns back to Raven. “Thank you, for agreeing to watch Madi.” 

“No problem, it’s why he’s here too.” Raven points towards Wells who smiles.

“Take care of her.” Wells points towards Clarke and Bellamy looks down at her.

“Don’t worry, I got her.” He winks and smiles when he sees her cheeks turn pink.

“Now you’ll have two people after you.” Raven grins. “But get out of here, I want to corrupt my niece.”

“Don’t you do that enough already?” Clarke teases then she leans over and gives Madi a kiss. “Be good for aunt Raven and uncle Wells, okay? Mommy and Bell will be back soon.”

“Okay, mama.” Madi smiles. “Bye, Bell.”

“Bye, Madi.” He smiles at the little girl. “We won’t be out too late.”

They start towards the front door and Bellamy opens it, smiling at Clarke as he brings their joined hands up and kisses the back of her hand. But before they can shut the door, Bellamy hears Wells and Raven’s voices following them as they walk outside.

“Oh, they’re so done for.”

“Yep.”

Bellamy opens the door for Clarke and helps her in, her friends’ voices echoing in his ears. He knew that when he first gave Clarke his number that he would probably be in this for the long haul, and the conversation he had with Octavia comes back to him. _The fact that you saw this mom in the airport and was instantly like I want to date her even though she has a kid says a lot about you._ _You’ve barely known this girl for forty-eight hours but it seems like you already know that you want to be with her for a while._

Bellamy slides into the driver’s seat and tries to calm his racing heart, but when Clarke looks over at him and smiles it does a somersault. He’s glad that his own excitement is mirrored in her face, because he’s starting to feel more at ease with the fact that he’s about to bring her to play paintball. Something the girls he dated in high school would’ve never even considered.

They’re both quiet as Bellamy turns off her road, but it isn’t long before she turns in her seat to look at him. “Okay, since you won’t outright tell me where we’re going, let’s play a game.”

“A game?”

“Yep! I get to ask you three questions and if you answer yes to any of them then I get to ask you more.” She smiles at him.

“And what if the answer is no?”

“Then I’ll just have to suffer until we arrive.” Clarke teases and Bellamy laughs.

“Okay then, go ahead.”

Clarke leans on the center console. “Okay, is it inside?”

“No.”

“Will there be a lot of people?”

“Yes.”

“Will I know any of the people?”

“Define ‘know’.”

“Will I have met any of them before?” Bellamy takes a second to think but then settles on a decision. 

“No.”

“Hmm...”

“Give up?” Bellamy smirks.

“No, I’m thinking.” Clarke props her head up on her hand with her elbow resting on the center console. “Alright, fine, I give up.” She turns to look at him. “Where are we going?” Bellamy chuckles then grabs her hand, giving it another kiss.

”You don’t like not knowing things, do you?” Bellamy teases.

“Maybe.”

“It’s cute, babe, really.” Bellamy keeps smiling as he drives, and he keeps her hand grasped in his. She turns back around in her seat and settles in, but Bellamy doesn’t miss the way she looks around at everything to try and figure out where they’re going.

Forty minutes later, Bellamy turns onto a gravel driveway that leads up to a few trailers with the sign “Basics Paintball” above them. He hops out of the truck and opens Clarke’s door before pulling out a half-zip jacket from his back seat.

“Here, you might need this. They don’t sting that bad if you have something covering you, but on skin? That might hurt a little.”

“I have to say, this is a first.” Clarke says as she shrugs on the jacket. Paintball is something she’s always wanted to do, but the closest she’s ever come to something like this is filling balloons with paint and throwing darts at them. Which isn’t even in the same ballpark.

“First time playing paintball or the first paintball date you’ve been on?” Bellamy quirks and eyebrow and Clarke smiles.

“Both.”

“Well then,” he says as he wraps his arms around her waist, “I hope it doesn't disappoint.” They kiss then Bellamy grabs her hand and leads her towards the building. 

The two of them get walked through everything and before long, they’re standing outside with their paintball guns waiting for things to get kicked into gear. Clarke is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet and Bellamy turns to look at her.

“Nervous?”

“That obvious?” Clarke looks up at him with her lower lip caught between her teeth. “Kane taught me how to shoot a gun, but I’m not sure how well that translates to shooting someone with paintballs.”

“Relax, you’ll be fine.” Bellamy reaches out and rubs her back. “Octavia was nervous her first time but now she’s deadly with this thing.”

“Have you done this a lot?”

“Pretty much every weekend growing up.”

“So, basically you’re saying I should steer clear of you and your gun?” Despite the mask she’s wearing, Bellamy can see that her eyebrows are arched.

“Don’t worry about me, I said I’d protect you.” Bellamy winks and Clarke lets out a breathy laugh.

“I might need it.”

“You’ll do well, babe.” Bellamy smiles at her and then there’s a sound that signals the start of the game and everyone is off.

Clarke gets pelted almost instantly and she nearly hits him but Bellamy moves out of the way and it lands on one of the props that have been set up. Bellamy laughs and pulls her in for a kiss. _She’s cute when she’s fumbling_. Someone comes from around one of the walls and Bellamy shoots them in the leg.

“Okay, come here.” Bellamy tugs Clarke behind the wall they’re closest too. “You need some better shooting instructions.”

“Am I that bad?” Clarke asks but with how much she’s grinning, she knows she is.

“Here.” Bellamy sets his gun to the side and motions for Clarke to lift hers up. “Place this part here, and hold it like this…” Bellamy positions her gun against her shoulder and he places one of hands on her back while positioning her arm. “Yeah, that’s good.” He lingers a little long beside her, but he can’t bring himself to move. “Okay, keep looking and, do you see that guy right there hiding?” Clarke nods. “Wait for the right moment, then shoot.”

He can feel Clarke take a deep breath and then whenever the guy moves further from behind the bush, she pulls the trigger and it hits him in the back. “I got him!”

“Yes!” Bellamy wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her cheek. “I knew you could do it.”

“I just had a good teacher.” Clarke smiles up at him and suddenly, Bellamy wishes they weren’t in the middle of a paint ball game.

A ball splats against the wall they’re behind and it brings Bellamy back to the task at hand. He crashes his lips to hers then pulls back. “We should probably move.”

“Where you go I go.”

Bellamy grins then positions his gun back in his hands and leads Clarke from behind the wall. Clarke’s aim improved and she hit more of the other players than the objects, and Bellamy could tell that his grin never left his face. As they continue to play, Bellamy tries to steal as many kisses as he can between them running and hiding. The game lasts two hours and Bellamy can feel bruises already beginning to form on his body.

After they return their stuff, Bellamy leads Clarke back to his truck, both of them laughing and smiling like they’re still in high school. Except he honestly can’t remember having _this much_ fun, if he’s being honest. Clarke takes off the jacket he had given her.

“Thanks for letting me borrow this, I’m sorry it got so dirty.”

“No worries, it washes out.” Bellamy takes his jacket and throws it in the backseat. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Bellamy helps Clarke into the truck and then before long they’re pulling out of the gravel driveway. “So, how was that for a second date?” Bellamy asks as he pulls out of the parking lot.

“It was amazing.” Clarke grins and stretches out her arms, wincing slightly. . “But I think we’re both going to be a little sore tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s the one downside to it.” He gives her an apologetic smile and Clarke takes his hand.

“But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Me either.” Bellamy kisses the back of her hand and she giggles.

On their ride back towards her house, he steals kisses from her at red lights and stop signs and he doesn’t want to have to tell her goodbye when he brings her home. When they stop at a red light not far from her house, he can feel his stomach grumble.

“Hey, I know it’s late,” Bellamy says glancing at the clock on the dash, “but do you want to get something to eat?”

“Hmm…got anything in mind?”

“Would you consider Sonic like a date?”

“I would consider Sonic the best date.” She smiles and Bellamy feels like he’s soaring.

He pulls into the Sonic around the corner from her house and Clarke nearly climbs into his lap while trying to get a good look at the menu. There’s colored powder in her hair from the game and her cheeks are red, but her eyes are still the ocean blue that he remembers instantly loving.

“So, what do we get?” Clarke turns her head to look at him and he has a feeling she knows he hadn’t been looking at the menu. “What?” The corners of her mouth turn upwards and he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Nothing, you’re just beautiful.”

Clarke’s cheeks turn an even deeper red and she ducks her head. “Thanks,” she brings her eyes back up to his, “but I think _you’re_ beautiful.”

Bellamy chuckles and leans forward, pressing his lips to hers. “Thank you.”

Clarke’s stomach rumbles and she pouts, looking back at the menu. “I want ice cream.” Bellamy has to smile at how similar she and her daughter are.

“Then, let’s get you some ice cream.”

In the end, they each get a coney, a large brownie blast to share between the two of them, and two orders of tater tots. Clarke immediately starts digging into the blast but she doesn’t get too far before realizing she should eat her hot dog before it gets cold. They both must’ve been starving after the paintball game because they both inhale their hot dogs and just as Clarke is sucking the chili and cheese off her fingers, she turns to Bellamy and gives him a small smile.

“Sorry, that was probably really unattractive.”

“I thought it was hot.” Bellamy grins and Clarke shoves him lightly.

“Right.” She picks up her order of tots and turns in her seat to face him. “So, do you want to play twenty questions?”

“Twenty questions?” Bellamy smirks, “I haven’t played that since high school.”

“Then it looks like you’re long overdue. But don’t worry, I’m not going to try and use this as a way to delve into your sex life.” She smiles as she pops another tater tot into her mouth. “So, what’s your favorite type of music?”

Bellamy settles into his seat and looks at her. “I like classic rock. My mom played it a lot growing up.” Bellamy eats one of his tater tots. “What about you?”

“I listen to a lot of stuff, really. But recently it’s been a _Frozen_ soundtrack.” Clarke giggles. “What about your favorite movie?”

“Isn’t it my turn to ask the question now?” Bellamy raises an eyebrow and she grins.

“Have to be quick around here, babe.”

“I think I can do that.” He smiles. “Okay, what is _your_ favorite movie?”

“When I was growing up, I loved the _Anastasia_ movie. It had a happy ending that I liked.” Clarke finishes off her tater tots and picks up the blast. “What about you? Wait, Indiana Jones!”

“Yeah, I loved Indiana Jones, which is why I wanted to be him.” Bellamy laughs.

“Like I’ve said before, I could see it.” Clarke rests her head against the seat and brings up a spoonful of ice cream to his lips. “Um…oh! I got it. What’s your favorite constellation?”

“Ooh, that one’s tricky.” Bellamy closes his eyes and thinks. “Let’s go with Pegasus. What about you?”

“I always liked Cassiopeia.” A soft smile spreads across Clarke’s lips. “My father loved showing me the stars growing up.”

“What was he like?”

Clarke turns her head towards him and her smile widens. “He was great.”

They spend the rest of their time at Sonic eating their ice cream while Bellamy listens to Clarke talk about her father. He knows it’s a sensitive subject for her, but she seems willing to tell him more about her father now. Some of the stories she tells reminds him of his mother, and he pushes down the dull ache that comes with thinking about her. Though it’s not as bad as it usually is some times.

When they’re all done eating, Bellamy throws away their trash before heading back to Clarke’s house. On the way there, Clarke tells him about Wells’ plan to stay for two weeks and he can see how excited she is. He’s come to learn that it’s difficult for the two of them to get to spend any amount of time together unless she goes up to D.C., but even then it’s not much when it during a break.

“If only I could’ve seen Jaha’s face.” Clarke laughs. “But I’m glad the two of you got to meet.”

“I don’t know if he likes me or not.” Bellamy gives her a lopsided grin.

“He likes you, trust me, but he can be a little overprotective. Not that you would know what that’s like.” Bellamy knows she’s teasing, but he can’t help the heat that rises to his cheeks.

“I understand that.”

“He just needs some time to get to know you.” Clarke props her head up on her hand and looks over at Bellamy. “Then he’ll see what I see.” He pulls into her driveway and turns to look at her.

“And what would that be, Clarke?”

“Someone amazing.” Her admission steals his breath away and he feels as if his heart is going to burst out of his chest, but he recovers and smiles.

“Now, Princess, don’t you know it’s rude to brag about yourself?”

“Will you just take a compliment?” Clarke pushes him lightly and rolls her eyes, though not without affection, and Bellamy laughs.

“I guess I’m just not used to getting compliments.” He gives her a shy smile and Clarke reaches over, running her fingers through his hair.

“Then we’ll just have to work on that.”

Bellamy’s lost the ability to breathe. Her hands in his hair and her piercing blue eyes are enough to make him never want to leave his truck, or this moment. “I’m going to be complimenting you a lot.” Clarke smirks at him and he ducks his head, smiling. _I’m always smiling with her._ When he looks back up at her, it’s like he can feel the electricity in the air and that’s what propels him forward, capturing her lips with his.

The kiss is more heated than any other kiss that they’ve shared, even from their make-out session the night they had their first movie marathon together. He brings his hand up and places it on the back of her neck, threading his fingers through her long hair and Clarke sighs against him. He’s ready to pull her out of her seat but he remembers where they are and they pull back, panting.

“Do you want to come inside?” Clarke’s voice is breathy and her pupils have dilated to the point where he can barely see any of the blue. Bellamy leans forward and gives her another kiss.

As much as it pains him to do so, he says, “you have some people waiting for you, baby, and one of them came a long way to see you. Don’t get me wrong, I want to, but I don’t think it’s the right time. Not yet.” And he doesn’t think it is. He doesn’t want to jump her in his truck then have to try and avoid her friends, especially when one of them pretty much dropped everything to be here.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Clarke gives him a small smile. “But I had fun tonight, Bellamy.”

“Me too, Princess.” Clarke leans forward and gives him a deep kiss. It’s not heated, but it’s full of promise.

“Tomorrow, we’re having a sort of welcoming party for Wells, would you want to come?”

“Sure, just give me a time.” Bellamy smiles and when she mirrors it, his heart expands.

“I’ll text you.” She gives him one more kiss before opening the door and sliding out of her seat. “But you’ll text me when you get home, yeah?”

“Of course.” He gives her a wink and she smiles.

“Be safe.”

“Always.”

“Bye, babe.”

“Bye.” Clarke shuts the door and Bellamy watches as she makes her way to her front door before pulling out of her driveway.

The ride home, he feels both extremely happy and giddy but also kind of bummed about not being able to see where things would’ve gone. But he knows that they’ll have plenty of time for that in the future. He turns the radio on low and listens to the soft music filtering through his speakers as he drives. The day began with him excited to watch Madi and ended with him feeling the lightest he’s ever felt.

When he parks in his driveway, he’s not surprised to see the light on the living room. It’s becoming a thing where Miller is waiting for him after he does anything with Clarke; it’s almost as if Octavia recruited him to be her eyes and ears since she can’t be at his house every single night. Bellamy pulls out his phone to tell Clarke that he’s home and when he walks through the front door, he looks into the living room to see if he can spot Miller and, sure enough, his friend is already looking at him from his place on the couch.

“Is it going to become a thing where you’re waiting up for me like a concerned parent?” Bellamy teases and Miller gets off the couch, stretching.

“Hey, you can’t blame me for being a concerned best friend.” Both of them walk into the kitchen and Miller takes out two beers. “So, how’d the second date go?”

Bellamy takes a sip of his drink and grins. “Amazing.”

“See? We told you that she would love paintball.” Miller claps him on the shoulder. “But paintball ended nearly two hours ago, so did y’all do anything else?”

“We went to Sonic and sat in the truck and talked.” Bellamy ducks his head, unable to keep his goofy grin off his face. “I really like her, man.”

“I can tell.” Miller leans against the kitchen counter and looks at him. “But then again, we knew that the day you met her.”

“That obvious?”

“Uh-huh.” Miller takes a sip of his drink and Bellamy leans against the counter across from his friend. “You seem a lot happier.”

“I am happy.” Bellamy smiles as he thinks about all of the time he’s spent with Clarke and Madi. “You know what I was like when we first started college, I never thought that I would be able to find someone and settle down but—I don’t know. There’s just something about her, about both of them, that makes me feel like maybe it is possible.”

“It’s always been possible, Bellamy, I just don’t think you cared to look for it.” Miller takes another sip of his drink. “And don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you found her, but don’t you think this is a little fast? It’s only been, what, a week?”

“It’s crazy, I know. Octavia already told me I’m insane,” Bellamy chuckles lightly, “but I knew what I was getting into. I knew about the possibility of her not wanting to date me because she was worried about Madi getting attached to me, and I knew that if I did date her then it couldn’t just be a one-and-done deal.” Bellamy leans his head back against the cabinet. “It’s crazy, and it only has been a week, but I think this is what a real relationship is supposed to feel like.” Bellamy tilts his head to the side and scrunches up his face. “Is that too cliché? Or cheesy?”

“It’s pretty damn cheesy,” Miller laughs, “but I guess that’s what happens when you find someone you really like.” Miller pushes off the counter and walks towards him, clasping him on the shoulder. “But if you’re happy, I’m happy for you. And it’s obvious both of them adore you so I don’t think your feelings are one-sided. But, now that I know you’re safe and head-over-hills for this woman, I’m going to sleep.”

Miller nods his head then starts towards the stairs, and Bellamy can see Miller pull out his phone. “You’re about to text everyone aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah. Night!”

Bellamy shakes his head and smiles then decides to head to bed too. He finishes off his drink then takes a quick shower before climbing into bed. He tries not to let his mind wander about how else this night could’ve gone, even if it does stray there from time to time, but he’s still happy with how it ended. He pulls a pillow towards him and settles under his covers. When his eyes close, blonde hair and blue eyes dance across his eyelids as well as brown hair and blue eyes. _Wells was right, I am done for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gun scene, I had to do it lol but this story makes me happy to write :)  
> Also, anyone else like protective Octavia? Because I do 
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a crawfish boil :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! I know I was saying that I was hoping to have this up last week and I'm really sorry that it took this long. So far, it seems as if I'll only be able to get one chapter done a week and considering I have two stories going right now, I'm going to have to decide if I just want to alternate which one gets updated or put one on the back burner until I get more free time. It really sucks because I love writing both of the stories, I just don't have much free time anymore since college started. 
> 
> But, I'll keep y'all updated and if this story doesn't get updated next week, then it'll definitely be updated the week after, I just hope y'all can stick with me through this :)

Bellamy had woken up earlier than he expected Saturday morning and it was to a text message from a number he didn’t recognize, but that didn’t last long.

 _Hey, it’s Wells, I got your number from Raven_  
_Clarke told me that she invited you to spend time with us but knowing her she hasn’t told you anything else_  
_Come whenever you want, but Clarke’s asleep, Raven and I are up and I’m making breakfast_

Bellamy laughed because Clarke hadn’t texted him anything last night about when to come over, but the idea of being there when Clarke wakes up made him excited. He sent a text back to Wells saying that he’d be there in half an hour then jumped into the shower.

He showers and brushes his teeth in record time then he’s out the door before he can even process Miller staring at him from the kitchen. When he reaches Clarke’s house, he knocks on the door and he can hear the sound of Madi’s little feet hitting the floor but the footsteps that follow her this time aren’t Clarke’s. Raven opens the door and, at this point, Bellamy knows to bend down enough to where Madi can jump into his arms.

“Glad you made it, I hear the date went well.” Raven motions him into the house.

“Yeah, it was fun. Hey, Madi.”

“Morning, Bell.” Madi wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him. “Mama’s asleep, but we’re making food.”

“Good morning, little one.” Bellamy kisses the top of her head and he can see Raven smile as she moves past him and heads towards the kitchen. “Smells good.”

Wells turns from his place in front of the stove and does a salute with the spatula in his hands. “Thank you, I don’t remember the last time I cooked for this many people.”

“Well, you haven’t burnt anything yet, so I’d say that’s a good sign.” Raven grins at Wells who rolls his eyes and swats her away from him.

Madi squirms in Bellamy’s arms so he puts her down and she wanders over to where there’s some colors and paper set up for her on her little table and she starts drawing. Wells takes to asking Bellamy how the date went, and Bellamy can’t help the grin that’s on his face as he talks.

“You know, Clarke looked the same way when she told me.” Wells smiles and Bellamy is pretty sure he’s blushing all the way down his neck.

After about ten minutes of talking, a door down the hallway opens and closes and Bellamy is pretty sure his heart skipped at beat at the idea of surprising Clarke.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Raven looks at Clarke over the rim of her coffee mug.

“Mama!” Madi abandons her artwork and runs to her mom who picks her up.

“Hey, honey. It seems like I missed the party invite.” Clarke looks around the kitchen and Bellamy smiles as he walks over to her. He’s been doing that a lot with her.

“We didn’t want to wake you,” he says as he wraps an arm around her waist and kisses her forehead. “Good morning, gorgeous.”

Clarke blushes but Bellamy’s attention is brought to Wells who groans from the stove. “Oh god, I’m going to throw up in the bacon.” Wells moans and Raven throws a wadded-up paper towel at him. “Yeah, yeah, good morning.” Wells salutes Clarke with the spatula too.

“You’re here early.” Clarke looks back at Bellamy and he notices the giddiness in her voice.

“I thought it’d be a nice surprise!” Wells calls over his shoulder. “Since, you know, what didn’t happen last night is apparently  _my_  fault.” Bellamy can feel his entire body heat up, starting at his face and making it’s way down. _Clarke told him about that?_ Bellamy glances at Clarke who seems to be as red as he is.

“What didn’t happen last night, mama?” Madi looks at Clarke with her little eyebrows furrowed and all Bellamy can this is _oh no_. Clarke looks at Bellamy and he’s surprised he can get his brain to work.

“Wells, didn’t let Clarke and I have ice cream last night because it would’ve ruined our dinner.” Bellamy says, searching Clarke’s face for any sign of it that was a good save or not.

“You can eat ice cream tonight.” Madi says simply and Clarke and Bellamy both let out a sigh of relief. Raven and Wells are just staring at the three of them and when Clarke looks at Wells, he mouths _‘sorry’_ and Clarke sticks her tongue out at him. Despite the panic that he had just experienced, he laughs.

Before long, Wells is done cooking and Bellamy helps Raven get the plates out while Clarke grabs the biscuits out of the oven. They all set their plates down at the dining table and Bellamy is surprised when Madi shows up beside his chair.

“Up, please.” Clarke is behind her with the blue _Toy Story_ plate and Bellamy doesn’t hesitate to reach down and bring Madi into his lap, taking her plate from Clarke.

“She’s too small to sit at the table so she’ll usually sit on one of our laps,” Clarke explains, but Bellamy doesn’t mind.

“Seems like I’ve been replaced.” Raven makes a pouty face at Madi who shakes her head.

“No, you my auntie Ray, this is Bell.” Madi says as she reaches over and grabs her biscuit then takes a bite of it. All of them laugh and Bellamy feels a surge of affection go through his chest at the fact that Madi chose to sit with him.

“So, Bellamy, who’s your favorite football team?”

“Really, Wells?” Clarke quirks an eyebrow at her best friend. “Football?”

“What? At least I’m not my father and bringing up the weather.”

“Oh god,” Clarke leans her head back and looks at Bellamy, “Jaha is the worst about that.”

“See? You agree.” Wells grins at Clarke then turns back to Bellamy. “So, do you have a favorite?”

Of course Bellamy had to go with his college’s football team, if he had chosen anything else then it would’ve been considered blasphemous. Conversation flows smoothly as time goes on, and before long, they’re all done eating and putting away their dishes. Bellamy even lifts Madi up so she can wash the crumbs off her plate and put it in the sink.

 “So, what’s the plan for today?” Bellamy asks once everyone is finishing up.

“We usually bake a lot of stuff,” Raven calls over her shoulder as she digs into the fridge. When she straightens, she’s holding a hug tube of cookie dough and Bellamy finds himself wondering about something. He leans over towards Wells who is leaning against the counter.

“Can they actually bake?”

“Hey, I heard that, Blake!”

Wells chuckles. “Yeah, they can bake a little. If you watch them close enough.” Wells gives Clarke a lopsided grin and she rolls her eyes before settling on Bellamy.

“We _can_ cook some things, you know.”

Bellamy holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m still learning.” He grins and Clarke smiles too.

“Okay, so, the mission for today is to try and make as many chocolate chip cookies as we possibly can.” Raven says as she sets some baking trays down onto the counter. “Try not to eat all of the cookie dough.” Raven looks pointedly at Clarke who gives her an innocent look and it makes Bellamy wonder if Clarke would just eat straight cookie dough out of the container like he used to.

Over the next hour, they all get to work on making as many cookies as they possibly can, with Clarke making normal sized ones but Wells acting as if the cookies needed to be as big as Madi’s head. At some point, Bellamy notices Clarke and Wells getting into a contest to see who could make the biggest cookie, but given that they were each given a certain amount of cookie dough each, Clarke wins because Wells had already used most of his.

“Hey, Bellamy,” Wells calls as he tries to dismantle his large cookies, “how do you like teaching?”

“I love it.” Bellamy’s answer is immediate. “I also love the subject I’m teaching so that’s a big part of it, but I like getting to teach something I’m passionate about.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Wells looks up at him. “Any particular subject in history you like?”

“Ancient civilizations.”

“With a preference for mythology from those ancient civilizations.” Clarke beams at him and Bellamy can feel his cheeks turn pink. “Did I ever tell you that Wells used to love history?”

“Still do,” Wells chimed in, popping a piece of cookie dough in his mouth, “but I ended up majoring in political science at my father’s wishes before going into law.”

“He didn’t let you choose your major?”

“He did, but he argued that poli-sci would help me in the long run when it came to becoming a lawyer. I also minored in English.”

Bellamy and Wells began talking about the classes that they liked and the ones that they wished they could’ve gone without. Eventually, Raven taps out of making cookies and wanders over to the couch with a plate of cookie dough and Bellamy finds it ironic that she chastised Clarke about eating the cookie dough when he hadn’t actually seen her eat much of it.

Just as the first batch of cookies are getting put in the oven, Madi yells from the living room. “Movie! Movie!” Everyone turns to look at her and Bellamy notices how much chocolate she has on her face and wonders if she got away with eating more of the cookie dough than anyone had realized. Wells wanders over to where Madi is sitting on the living room floor.

“And what movie would that be, Mads?” Wells smiles as he takes a place on the floor next to her. She holds up _Brave_. “Brave, huh? That’s a good choice.”

“I think he and I will get along just fine.” Bellamy leans over and whispers in Clarke’s ear.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Clarke beams up at him.

They all take their places around the living room. Raven calls dibs on the loveseat for herself, and Bellamy decides to sit on the couch with Madi, and Bellamy can see Clarke hesitate and look between him and Wells but he nods then she takes her place next to Wells on the pallet on the floor.

Madi climbs onto the couch and settles in next to Bellamy and this time she stays awake long enough to watch the movie, unlike the first night Bellamy came over to have a movie night, and as soon as the credits start rolling Madi gets up and asks Wells to choose between _Frozen_ and _Tangled._ He goes with _Tangled._

“I really like this movie and I get how Flynn feels.” Wells lays back down on the pallet.

“How so?” Clarke looks over at him and he shrugs.

“He’s the only person to question why they’re all singing! Like it’s totally not normal for every Disney movie to have a musical number.”

“Thank you!” Bellamy calls from his spot on the couch.

“Someone had to finally say it!”

Clarke just looks between Bellamy and Wells and she laughs, which leads to Bellamy smiling like an idiot because he got her to. Madi climbs back onto the couch with her head leaning against one of the armrests and her feet barely touching Bellamy’s leg. She even has her arms folded behind her head and when Bellamy looks at Clarke, she’s laying the same way. _Like mother like daughter._

About halfway through the movie, Bellamy’s sweats start vibrating and he pulls out his phone with the intention of putting it on silent when he realizes that it’s Octavia. He slips off the couch to move to the hallway and mouths “ _Octavia”_ to Clarke when she looks at him. When he’s sure he’s out of earshot, he answers.

“O? What’s up?”

“You know how we were supposed to have the crawfish boil next weekend?”

“Uh, yeah.” Everyone had decided on a time a couple of days ago and a place where to get the crawfish from and who’s house they were going to be going to.

“Well, Monty and Harper are leaving next weekend as soon as they finish with their finals because they’re supposed to be going on a cruise and you _know_ we can’t not have this crawfish boil, Bell. It’s tradition.”

“Yeah, I know.” Bellamy runs a hand through his hair.

“What? Are you busy? We need you and Linc here to cook.”?”

“I’m at Clarke’s. Her friend Wells came in from D.C., he took his exams early and came here to see her and we were having a welcoming party for him today.”

“Well bring them with you! You know I love Clarke and Madi and Raven. And then all of us can meet Wells.”

“You sure, O?”

“She’s your _girlfriend_ , idiot, of course I want you to bring her and everyone else. Monty’s already invited Zeke too.”

“Alright, I’ll tell them. But we have to finish watching _Tangled_ first.”

“Good to know I didn’t torture you growing up.” Bellamy can hear the smile in Octavia’s voice. “Can you still pick up the crawfish?”

“Yeah, I got it. I’ll be there within the next two hours.”

“Alright, I’ll round everyone up. Love you.”

“Love you too, O.”

Bellamy walks back into the living room rubbing the back of his neck and Clarke gets up. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s just everyone decided to have an impromptu crawfish boil today instead of next weekend. Something about Monty and Harper leaving for a cruise but still wanting to have one last get together before they leave. See, we always have an end-of-the-semester crawfish boil and we were planning on it being next weekend, but…” He realizes he’s rambling, but he can’t bring himself to stop.

“But everything’s been moved around, and you need to head out?”

“Yeah, but O told me to invite you, Madi, Raven, and Wells, too.” He gives her a small smile. “I told her what we were doing today, and she said that she didn’t want to ruin my plans but they kind of need me and Lincoln there to cook, so she told me to bring my plans with me. I know that this isn’t what you wanted to do today and—” Clarke cuts him off with a kiss.

“I love crawfish.”

“You do?”

“Of course, and Wells hasn’t been around when they’re in season yet so he’s coming whether he likes it or not.” Bellamy grins and kisses her again.

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me, I haven’t done anything.” Clarke giggles.

“Still.” Bellamy wraps his arms around her. “I can stay and finish the movie but then I have to head out because I have to meet up with Lincoln to get the crawfish.”

“Okay, then we’ll tell everyone when the movie is over.”

“Okay.”

They both walk back into the living room together and Bellamy can see Raven looking at the two of them, but Clarke mouths _later_ to her. Bellamy settles back onto the couch and Madi doesn’t seem concerned with anything other than the movie that’s playing in front of her and Clarke settles back onto the floor with Wells. Whenever the movie is over, Madi jumps up to pick another movie but Clarke catches her and pulls her onto her lap.

“Slow down, munchkin, I have a question. For everyone.” This gets Raven and Wells’ attention and they both turn towards her. “Octavia and everyone are having a crawfish boil and we’ve been invited.” Clarke turns to Wells, “I know this isn’t what we had on the agenda, but you’ll get to meet some more of our friends _and_ get to have crawfish for the first time.”

“Sure, seems like it could be fun.” Wells shrugs and looks over at Bellamy. “I’ve never boiled crawfish in my life, but I can help if you need it.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“This might be rude, but can I invite Zeke too?” Raven asks Bellamy and he smirks.

“Monty’s already asked, he’s already on his way.”

“Alright, what about you, Madi, do you want to see O and August again?” Madi smiles and nods her head. “Alright, well I guess that settles that. Let’s go.”

“Is it going to be at Octavia and Lincoln’s?” Raven asks.

“Yep, and they have a pool too.”

“Pool!” Madi grins.

“Okay, well we’ll change and get everything packed, but I know you need to head out so, text me the address?”

“Of course, Princess.” Bellamy smiles then gives Clarke a kiss on the cheek.

“Give me like five minutes, and I’ll be ready.” Wells tells Bellamy and then he disappears down the hallway to what Bellamy assumes is the guest room. Raven gets up from the couch and takes Madi, telling her that they were going to start getting ready, which leaves Bellamy and Clarke in the living room and it gives them a minute alone.

“Are you going to swim again?” Clarke’s voice is low as she wraps her arms around his waist. He’d be lying if he said that it didn’t do something to him.

“I don’t know,” Bellamy wraps his arms around her, “do you want to swim with me again?” He smirks down at her and holds her gaze. The same feeling he had the night before returns and he’s having a hard time pushing it down.

“Maybe.” Clarke’s cheeks turn pink.

“ _Maybe.”_ Bellamy echoes then leans down and closes the gap between the two of them. One of Bellamy’s hands knots itself into Clarke’s hair and she sighs, which doesn’t help his self-control. The only break apart when they hear a door opens and Wells appears at the end of the hallway, staring at them.

“I’m just gonna…yeah…” Wells points towards the front door then slips out of it. Bellamy laughs and pulls back.

“I guess that’s my cue.” He cards his fingers through her hair. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good.” Bellamy smiles then kisses her one last time and before he moves away, he moves to whisper in her ear. “I like the black swimsuit you wore last weekend.” He winks and Clarke’s eyes darken and her cheeks turn pink then he follows the path Wells went and slips out the front door too.

Wells is waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Bellamy walks outside and he looks up when the door closes. “So, what exactly do we have to do?” Wells asks as he follows Bellamy to his truck.

“We’re meeting up with my sister’s husband, Lincoln, and we’re going to figure out just how many sacks we need.”

“Are they expensive?”

“They can be, but you need to realize what you’re paying for. Like you could unknowingly get a sack with small ones that are half dead and get charged the price for the exact opposite.”

Wells let out a small whistle. “Seems like more goes into it than I thought.”

“It’s not that much, as long as you know roughly what you want.”

Wells nodded and neither of them talked while Bellamy drove to the next town over. There was a place that Bellamy’s mother used to go in Polis that always had the best crawfish for a reasonable price, and it hasn’t changed since he was a kid. When they pull into the parking lot, Lincoln jumps out of his truck and Bellamy makes the introductions.

“Wells, this is my brother-in-law Lincoln, Lincoln, this is Wells, Clarke’s friend from D.C.”

“Nice to meet you.” Wells holds out his hand and Lincoln shakes it.

“You too, glad you came.”

Bellamy could see Wells relax and it made him wonder if Lincoln’s size and tattoos intimidate him, but anyone who got to know him knew just how good of a person he was. The three of them head into the shop and there’s a teenager behind the counter who looks up when they walk in.

Lincoln does most of the talking while Bellamy tells Wells about how his mother used to always bring him here when he was growing up. After the guy gets their order rung up, Bellamy is pretty sure he saw Wells’ eyes pop out of his head whenever he saw the total.

“I didn’t think it would be _that_ much.”

“It’s a lot of work.” Bellamy shrugs and he and Lincoln pull out their wallets and hand two hundred dollars over to the worker. “But it’ll be worth it.” Bellamy grins then motions for Wells to head outside so they can load up the sacks.

As they follow Lincoln back to his and Octavia’s house, Bellamy can’t help but wonder what Wells thinks about his relationship with Clarke. From what Bellamy’s learned, Finn hadn’t been the best guy, obviously, but then her last girlfriend hadn’t been great either.

Bellamy glances at Wells who looks at him. “You know, Clarke really likes you.” Wells runs his hand over his chin. “And Madi already seems to think you’re the best too.”

“I really like them too.” Bellamy can feel a smile tug at the corners of his lips. “I know that all of this has been pretty fast—”

“That’s an understatement.” Wells blows out some air and rests his arm on the door. “Don’t get me wrong, you two seem like you get along really well, and Raven has definitely advocated for the type of person you are, but you have to understand where I’m coming from.”

Bellamy keeps his eyes focused on the road and nods his head. Of course he knows where Wells is coming from because he experienced the same thing with Octavia. When she was in high school, she dated a boy named Atom for years and then just as they were going into college, he broke up with her and said that he was going to college in Colorado; after telling Octavia how they were going to spend their lives together. Then, a year into college she meets Lincoln in a coffee shop and comes back a few months later saying she’s pregnant. So, yeah, Bellamy knew where Wells was coming from.

“No, I get it. You’re just trying to look out for them.”

“Good,” Wells lets out a sigh of relief. “And, if this means anything, I like you a hell of a lot more than Finn. He was fucking terrible, honestly.”

Bellamy chuckles as he pulls into Octavia’s neighborhood. “Yeah, that’s what I heard.”

When Bellamy pulls into Lincoln and Octavia’s driveway, he and Wells both hop out of the truck to start taking the sacks of crawfish out. Wells held is bag away from him as much as possible and Bellamy couldn’t help but grin at the way he was starting at the moving crustaceans. Octavia jogged out of the house with Harper behind her holding August.

“Finally! I’m starving. Oh, hey, I’m Octavia.” She smiles at Wells. “And this is Harper and my son August.”

“Wells.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Clarke has told us a lot about you.” Harper smiles too and August gurgles while stretching his arms out for Lincoln.

All of them head to the backyard where Miller and Monty are busying cleaning the leaves out of the pool and Jasper and Maya are throwing marshmallows into each other’s mouths. Introductions are made and Bellamy is happy with how easily Wells is brought into their friend group, but he can’t stop wondering when Clarke will be getting there.

Murphy, Emori, and Zeke all show up with enough alcohol to get all of them plastered three times over, and then the girls head inside to get some food together. He keeps glancing towards the back door, wondering when he’s going to see a head of blonde hair and a smaller head of brown hair walk through it. He’s so preoccupied with looking for his girls that he nearly burns himself on the boiling pot.

Wells talks easily with everyone and it makes Bellamy wonder if he’d be able to get him to come out and surprise Clarke more often. From the way Clarke talked, she only got to see him on birthday’s and major holidays, and he knew that she wanted it to be more. Of course, other people would be thrown off with their significant other having a best friend that’s the opposite sex, but Bellamy could tell that there was nothing between them aside from a close friendship.

At some point, Bellamy turns down a wrestling match from Murphy and while he’s tending to the boiling pot, he hears Zeke start a different wrestling match between Murphy and Jasper. Bellamy shakes his head and smiles as he glances at the other guys wrestling, but he doesn’t hear the back door open or see who walks out of it.

“ _That’s_ what you call wrestling, Murphy?” Wells calls from his place next to Miller, Zeke, and Monty.

“Think you can do better, Jaha?”

“Oh, I know I can.”

Bellamy looks up at Wells’ statement and catches sight of the two people he had been waiting for. Clarke, Madi, and the other girls make their way towards where the guys are. Monty says hi and Emori gives them a hug, then Zeke gives Raven a kiss and hands her a beer, and Miller hands Clarke one.

“Wells.”

“It’s just a little wrestling, Clarke.” Wells hands Clarke his drink and Bellamy makes his way towards her. He wraps his arm around her waist and gives her a kiss on her forehead. _They’re finally here._

“He knows how to wrestle?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Then I can’t wait to watch this.” Bellamy leans over to Miller. “Hey, a weeks-worth of dish duty that says Wells is going to kick Murphy’s ass.” Miller looks from Bellamy to the two guys getting in position and he shakes his had.

“Did you just make a bet about who will win?” Clarke asks.

“Maybe.” Bellamy can’t help the grin that spreads across his face and it widens when he sees Clarke roll her eyes. From somewhere behind him, he can hear Octavia snort and mutter _boys_ as Zeke walks over to Murphy and Wells.

“Okay, I want a nice, clean match,” he stares at Murphy, “no playing dirty. And, go!”

People around the group whoop and yell for whoever seems to be gaining the upper hand, but there’s no doubt that Wells knows what he’s doing. Murphy’s technique came from a year of high school wrestling and since then, he’s never had a clean fight in his life. Within five minutes, Wells has Murphy pinned down and Murphy is tapping out. Zeke calls match and even though Murphy looks like he’s ready to attack Wells again, he accepts Wells’ hand up.

“You wrestled in high school, didn’t you?” Murphy asks once he’s back on his feet.

“Yeah.”

“Should’ve known.” Murphy snorts then Emori hands him a drink. “But that was a good match.”

“Yeah, you’re not bad.”

“Even better when I can fight dirty.” Murphy smirks again before catching sight of Clarke next to Bellamy and Raven with Zeke. “Hey, where’s the hobbit?”

“Hobbit?” Wells eyebrows knit in confusion but Madi and August laugh as Octavia blows out bubbles for them. “You call Madi a hobbit?”

“She’s short!”

“She’s a _child_ , John.” Emori rolls her eyes.

“Hey, just an observation.” Murphy holds up his hands then makes his way towards Clarke and Raven and gives them each a hug. Bellamy slips away to check on the boiling pot, but he doesn’t miss what anyone says. “So, ready to celebrate the end of the semester?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“We still have finals to take, I wouldn’t exactly call this the end of the semester.” Raven says.

“Reyes, there’s only finals week left so I _would_ consider this the end of the semester.” He holds up his beer. “Let’s party!”

Monty starts up some music and everyone starts getting into the party mood. Their end of the semester party has always been bigger than the get togethers they would have on the weekends, and as time goes on, Bellamy can see when Clarke begins to realize it.

“Hey, Bell.” Octavia pops up beside him, “You already have your clothes set out in the spare bedroom for later and I told Clarke she could put her stuff in there too.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, of course.” Octavia grins at him then turns towards August who’s calling for her from Emori’s arms.

After a while, Lincoln tells him to go take a break and Bellamy joins Clarke and Madi near the little plastic slide that had been bought for August. Madi is getting a little too big for it, but she seems to be having fun all the same. Bellamy walks up behind Clarke and wraps his arms around her waist.

“Hello.”

“Hi there.” Clarke giggles then tilts her head to the side to give him a kiss.

“I’m sorry I have to spend a lot of time cooking.”

“It’s okay, boiling crawfish takes a while, especially if you want it done correctly.”

“Bell!” Madi stands up at the end of the slide. “Up!”

“Madi.” Clarke looks at her daughter who turns her big blue eyes back to Bellamy.

“Up, please.”

“Come here munchkin.” Bellamy leans down and lifts Madi up and swings her through the air. She giggles and screams for him to do it again, so he obliges and spins her a few more times. “Getting dizzy?” Madi nods her head but she’s still smiling. “Me too, here.” He lifts her up higher and places her on his shoulders.

“Butterfly!” Madi points somewhere over his head and before he knows it, him, Madi, and Clarke are on a butterfly hunt. He feels like this is how things are supposed to be, and he’s happy that he gets to spend times like these with the two of them.

For the next little while, Bellamy alternates between cooking and spending time with Madi and Clarke. Whenever he pops back up with them, he always pulls Clarke into a kiss and whenever he leaves, Clarke is the one to kiss him. One time when Bellamy is talking to Lincoln about how much longer the crawfish should cook, he looks over and sees Clarke dancing with Raven and Harper while Maya entertains August and Madi with some flowers.

When Clarke finishes dancing and finishes drinking some water, Bellamy gets an idea. He tip toes his way over to her and picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

“Bellamy! Put me down!”

“No can do, Princess.” Bellamy grins and when he reaches the edge of the pool, he throws her in before he has time to register that she’s grabbed onto his pants and he falls in with her. They’re a mess of limbs, but they manage to not hit each other and when Bellamy breaks through the surface, he shakes the water out of his hair and is pleased to find Clarke struggling to not smile. It does funny things to chest.

He walks towards her, his heart racing, and she backs up. He tilts his head to the side and looks at her, still smiling. “What’s the matter, Princess? Don’t want to have some fun?”

“Oh, you don’t think I want to play?” Clarke tilts her head to the side, matching his silent challenge.

“I don’t know, do you?” Bellamy keeps walking towards her and she smirks.

“You tell me.” Clarke jumps and Bellamy falls back into the water with her. Bellamy shoots up with Clarke in his arms then he throws her in again, following her willingly this time. When they’re underwater, his eyes are already open and he watches as she opens her eyes too. She smiles and Bellamy pulls her in for a quick kiss.

When they come back out of the water, everyone else whoops and cheers and Bellamy can feel his face heat up a little, but he never quits smiling. He’s about to swim over to the edge of the pool and take off his shirt before he can slip into his swim trunks when Madi’s voice comes from the steps of the pool.

“Mama! I want to play!” Emori is holding onto Madi’s hand as the little girl gets into the pool. Bellamy and Clarke both swim over to where she is.

“You want to play?” Clarke lifts Madi into her arms and falls back, which causes Madi to giggle.

Eventually, Clarke and Bellamy take off their wet clothes and he has to force himself not to stare when Clarke drags her tank top over her head. He’s never been one to sit there and open gawk at girls, well, at least not since his early teen years, but _holy shit_ Clarke Griffin has to be the most beautiful woman he’s ever met. She catches him staring at her and she smirks before letting her eyes roll over him. _Damn._ His thoughts drift back to the night before and their time in his truck and, well, let’s just say that that’s something he hopes they can revisit soon.

“First batch should be done in about thirty minutes!” Lincoln calls from his spot, stirring the crawfish.

“How exactly do you even eat crawfish?” Wells asks from the other side of the pool.

“You mean to tell me you’ve _never_ had crawfish?” Harper looks at him, shocked.

“Nope.”

“Clarke, how could you let him go this long without even trying it?”

“He never comes when they’re in season.” Clarke shrugs from her place beside Bellamy.

Harper looks back at Wells. “Then we have a lot to teach you today.”

Thirty minutes later, Bellamy helps Miller and Zeke bring some tables out of the house and line them up while everyone else gets to work covering them with newspapers. They just finish when they hear Bellamy and Lincoln call out for everyone to get ready. Octavia and Clarke make sure the kids are clear of the table as the others make a wall around the edges to keep the crawfish from spilling over.

“Wow, that looks good.” Wells says in astonishment.

“I hope you like spicy stuff.” Octavia grins and Wells looks between her and the table.

“I guess we’re about to find out.”

Monty and Jasper pull some trashcans to each side of the table. Everyone digs in but Bellamy notices Wells watching everyone’s movements, and so does Lincoln, because Lincoln peels a crawfish slowly so Wells can mimic his actions. Bellamy has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Wells’ look of horror when Clarke shows him that he needs to suck the juice out of the crawfish’s head, but Wells does it anyway.

“It’s really good. Once you can get past the beady eyes.”

“Yeah, this is the best I think I’ve ever had.” Clarke smiles at Bellamy and then Lincoln and the two of them grin. Bellamy feels proud of himself at the fact that Clarke seems to like his stovetop cooking, barbeque pit cooking, and now his boiling abilities.

Madi stands between the two of them and they alternate placing the crawfish meat down in front of her so she can eat since she’s not able to peal them yet, and everyone talks about their plans for the summer. Monty and Harper are excited for the cruise that Monty’s family is bringing them on around the Caribbean, and Octavia and Lincoln tell everyone about their plans to bring August camping, then Jasper and May announce their plans to find an apartment together, then everyone asks Wells about where he’s going to college and what he’s studying.

Clarke had told Bellamy where Wells was going to college during her explanation of why it was always so hard to get anything planned with him, and Bellamy had been surprised. Growing up, Bellamy had a thing about not liking people with money, and even though that still comes into play with professors who act as if they’re better than everyone and some of the alumni for the university, it’s not a problem like how it used to be. But his friends had the same mindset to a certain extent.

“I’m studying to become a lawyer.”

“So, I’m guessing it was either lawyer or politician, huh?” Murphy asks from across the table and Wells nods.

“Yeah, pretty much. There was no way in hell I was going to become a politician. I hated those events.” Wells groans and Raven elbows him in the side. “Ow, what was that for?”

“Language.”

“Oh, sorry.” He gives Octavia and Clarke an apologetic look, but it doesn’t seem like either of the kids were too invested in the conversation. They were paying attention to the food that kept getting placed in front of them.

“Where exactly do you go to college, Wells?”

“Havard.” Everyone stops eating except for Clarke, Raven, and Bellamy since all of them knew.

“Harvard?” Jasper echoes and Wells nods.

“Yep.”

“Like the Ivy League, Harvard?” Harper is just as shocked.

“That’s the one.”

“What made you decide to come down here, Clarke?” Emori tilts her head to the side and Bellamy doesn’t miss the way that Wells smirks.

“She had a rebellious phase her senior year of high school and decided to apply to the schools she knew her mother wouldn’t approve of. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, but her mother was pretty adamant about Georgetown.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Georgetown, medical degree, my own practice by thirty-five, she had my entire life planned out for me. But I didn’t want any of that. I love my life down here and I’m getting a degree in something I love,” she shrugs. “This is me, not those stuffy black-tie events you always dragged me to.” She points at Wells and he holds up his hands in defense.

“Hey, that’s what friends are for.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Clarke chuckles.

“Well, _I_ , for one, am glad you decided to rebel and come here.” Raven winks at her.

“Me too, you’re cool, Griffin.” Emori smiles and everyone follows saying that they’re glad she decided to come here, too.

Bellamy learned early on that Clarke came from money, but he also learned that even she seemed to dislike people with money too. From the way she talked, her mother had been the opposite, but over the years she’s come to side with Clarke on most of her decisions.

Later on, Clarke and Octavia put their kids down for a nap, and Bellamy is actually sad that he missed it. He, Clarke, Octavia, and Lincoln have all limited their alcohol consumption throughout the day, but as soon as Clarke walks through the back door, there’s a shot glass being put in her hands.

“Griffin, shot!”

“I don’t think—”

“Come on, Clarke, just one.” Bellamy can see Clarke go back in forth with herself before ultimately tipping her head back and downing the glass.

“Woohoo!” Jasper cheers them on, but he gets shushed by Octavia and Maya who remind him that there’s two children sleeping upstairs.

Bellamy walks towards Clarke and snakes a hand around her waist; the way she melts into him makes his heart feel full. “So, does this mean that the princess has a wild side?”

“Maybe you’ll see it one day.” She turns and smirks up at him.

“I think I’d like that.”

“Mmm…me too.” She brings her hand up to hold onto the back of his neck and he leans down to give her a kiss.

Miller and Jasper get into a game of flip cup, and despite everyone’s efforts to pull Bellamy and Clarke into the game, they both say no and just opt to drink a couple of beers. Bellamy hasn’t gotten really drunk in a while, and if he’s to keep up with Madi and August whenever they wake up, he shouldn’t drink much more.

The kids sleep through the second batch of crawfish but when they wake up, they’re immediately ready to jump back into the pool. The rest of the day goes pretty much the same, and when it gets into the evening, Octavia and Clarke disappear inside the house so they can make their kids a proper dinner, and when Madi and August are done eating, Bellamy helps Clarke put Madi to sleep.

While everyone seems to be winding down, Bellamy notices that some of his friends seem two sheets to the wind but they’re all still drinking. _Honestly, we’re getting a little too old for this._ Harper and Monty have occupied the swing with Harper’s head propped up by Monty’s lap; there’s a of beer pong going on where it’s Wells and Murphy against Miller and Zeke; Raven is lazily swimming in the pool with Emori, and everyone else is just standing around watching the show being put on by the four drunkest people there.

“I don’t remember the last time I saw Wells this drunk.” Clarke says between laughs as Murphy and Wells look like they have to hold each other up.

“I’ve never seen Murphy take to someone so quickly.” Bellamy smirks as the guys in question hug each other once they realize they just beat Miller and Zeke. _How the hell did they manage that_? And it’s true, it took Murphy a couple of months to come around to Jasper, despite Jasper being a big goofball, and it took even longer for Murphy to come around to Bellamy. He’s only been around Wells for a few hours.

“Who’s next?” Jasper’s voice carries, but he seems to have remembered that there are kids sleeping again.

“What do you say, Princess,” Bellamy looks down at Clarke, “want to give it ago?”

Bellamy watches as Clarke glances from him to the table where more cups are being set up for another game. “Sure, why not?” Clarke shrugs and Bellamy smirks.

“We’ll go!” Bellamy holds up one hand while grabbing Clarke’s with the other and steering her towards the table.

“Ooh, interesting.” Emori calls from the pool. “My money is on Clarke.”

“You don’t even know who they’re playing against.” Murphy retorts and Emori sticks her tongue out at him.

“We’ll go.” Octavia makes her way to the other edge of the table with Lincoln following behind her. Bellamy has to smiles. Like with most siblings, he and Octavia had a competitive streak when it came to one another, and it’s only intensified as they’ve gotten older. Now, alcohol is usually involved.

“Oh, this I have to see.” Harper and Monty move from their place on the swing and join the throng of people that have gathered around the table. Even Emori and Raven have gotten out of the pool.

“Sibling versus sibling, parents versus parents, who will triumph in the battle of wills? Let’s find out!” Jasper announces and it makes Bellamy wonder if Jasper intentionally called Bellamy a parent or if he’s just too drunk to really care.

“You first, big brother.” Octavia throws the ball towards Bellamy and he smirks. They haven’t played beer pong before, but that never stopped her from bringing up some sort of drinking competition once she entered college. He and his sister hold each other’s stares and Bellamy feels the need to win rise up in him.

“Sure you’re ready to get your ass kicked, O?”

“Bring it on, old man.”

Bellamy chuckles and shakes his head then tosses the ball, and the game begins. Bellamy already knows that Lincoln’s alcohol tolerance is higher than most people’s, and Clarke seems to be handling her own, but he can feel himself getting towards wasted as the game goes on. Anytime he or Clarke make a cup there’s a chorus of cheers and Clarke always high-fives him and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

Now, theirs one cup left on each side of the table and all of their friends are quiet around them. Bellamy bounces he plastic ball on the table a couple of times before looking at his target. Octavia is staring at him with determination in her eyes and he almost feels bad for what he’s about to do to her. _Almost_. Bellamy smirks then lets the ball fly.

 _Plunk_. The ping pong ball sinks straight into the last cup in front of Lincoln and Octavia and everyone cheers. Octavia is full-on death glaring at him now, shaking her head, but Bellamy knows that she’s trying not to laugh.

“Better luck next time, O.” Bellamy puts an arm around his little sister’s shoulders, and she gives him a playful punch to the side.

“Douche.”

“Is that any way to talk to your loving brother?”

“God, you’re such a dork.” Octavia snorts but gives her brother a side hug. “But I love you anyway, even if you did just kick my ass.”

Bellamy ruffles Octavia’s hair which leads to her swatting him away and he makes his way over to where Clarke is picking up the cups with Lincoln. The thought from earlier in the day comes back into his mind as well as the previous night, but with how much they’ve been drinking he knows that he shouldn’t act on it.

When he reaches her, Raven materializes beside them and hands them each a bottle of water, then both of them down the contents almost immediately. Clarke’s blue eyes are surrounded by a ring of red now, and she yawns. He can feel himself slipping into a tired state too, but with this girl in front of him, he’s not ready to go to sleep.

“I think a movie is a good idea.” Bellamy says, looking towards the house.

“A movie sounds great.” Clarke smiles up at him and it’s so warm and beautiful that Bellamy is pretty sure he’d melt if she touched him.

“Movie? I want to watch a movie.” Jasper and Maya stop on their way towards the house. “Marper, movie?” Monty and Harper both nod in agreement, already seeming to fall asleep.

“Marper?” Clarke asks, turning towards Bellamy and he smiles. No one questions Jasper’s reasoning for doing most of the things he does, but everyone loves the nicknames.

“Jasper came up with a relationship name for them.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” Clarke smiles and wraps her arm around his waist and he puts one around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. They’re making their way into the house behind Jasper and Maya when Clarke looks up at him again. “Do you think he has one for us?”

“Bellarke!” Jasper calls over his shoulder and Bellamy smiles as Clarke laughs.

“Do you have a name for everyone?” Clarke asks and Jasper turns around, giving her a lopsided grin.

“Yes, I do.” Maya propels him into the house and Clarke turns to look at Bellamy who merely shrugs.

“That’s just a Jasper thing.”

When they reach the living room, Bellamy notices that Octavia had already set out a bunch of blankets and pillows for everyone to use and Bellamy grabs two more bottles of water then settles into the couch, pulling Clarke down with him. She takes her water bottle then curls into his side and he lets out a contented sigh. After a long day of cooking and partying, his body is grateful for the softness of the couch.

 _Van Helsing_ gets put on and everyone nurses on their water bottles, trying to fight off sleep long enough to at least finish one of them. Bellamy finishes his water bottle and sets it off to the side; he’s not even going to try throwing it away with Clarke falling asleep on him. _It can wait until morning_.

When the movie ends, Bellamy doesn’t like the idea of waking Clarke up, but he’d rather sleep in a bed than cramped on the couch so he nudges her shoulder a little. “It’s time to get in bed, baby.”

Clarke makes a small noise of protest but she lets him help her off the couch and guide her up the stairs into the spare bedroom. They lean on each other while they walk, but Bellamy doesn’t feel drunk, he’s more tired than anything. When they get into the room, Bellamy’s spare sweatpants had already been put out for him and he notices that Octavia left Clarke a change of night clothes too.

Once they get changed and settled into bed, Bellamy’s arms open for Clarke like it’s something they’ve done a thousand times, and she goes immediately. There’s something about getting to cuddle with your significant other after an eventful day that just makes Bellamy smile. Being able to wrap her up in his arms is one of the best things ever. Bellamy’s fingers find her hair and begins coming them through it. Clarke hums as his fingertips massage her scalp and she leans up, pressing a kiss to his neck.

The action causes his earlier thoughts to rise back to the surface and he can’t help the low sound that comes from his throat, then she does it again.

“I thought you were tired?” Bellamy doesn’t open his eyes but he can feel Clarke prop her head up on his chest.

“I am.”

“But you’re doing that.”

“I am.” Bellamy can hear the smile in her voice so he opens his eyes to look at her. Despite the darkness, her blue eyes are shining.

“You’re confusing me.” He gives her a tired smile which makes her giggle. _I like when she giggles._ He turns so they’re facing each other, and his hand moves from her hair to trailing his fingertips up and down her back. “What do you want, Clarke?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what I want.” Oh, it definitely is, but he wanted to hear her say it.

“Are you sure?” He knows it’s a question that she’s already answered, but he wants to make sure that this is done right. Without a word, she leans forward and presses her lips to his. It’s deep and it’s heated, and it’s as if they’re suddenly picking up from where they left off in his truck. His hands move up her body and tangle themselves into her hair.

“I’m pretty sure we were interrupted last night.” Clarke smiles and bites down on her bottom lip. Bellamy grins.

“Yeah, I think we were, too.” He crashes his lips into hers and then he feels that he’s being completely consumed by her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, my heart is happy again. Really, this time without any news on the new season will probably be the death of me. 
> 
> I hope you liked it and I really appreciate all of your love and support for this story!!  
> Xx


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mother's Day and Bellamy intends to make it great :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-dah! I was able to get both of my stories updated this week, so I hope I'm able to continue doing this, though the days in which I post may be a little sporadic lol but I loved writing this chapter <3

Bellamy had taken to giving Clarke some alone time with Wells the last couple of days he was going to be there, but the thought of Mother’s Day getting closer and closer was enough to make him a bundle of nerves. Clarke was a mother, and she was his girlfriend, and Bellamy was intent on making her Mother’s Day great. He texted Raven a few times to get some insight on what she and Wells had been planning for Clarke, and even though Raven invited him to join them, she understood when he said that he wanted them to have their time together before Wells left. He also had Octavia to spend time with.

When Mother’s Day finally arrives, Bellamy wakes up before the alarm he had set and has to do some pushups and pullups to exhaust some of the extra energy he’s feeling before jumping into the shower. Bellamy had gotten to spend the day before with Octavia before Lincoln drove her and August to the next state over to go camping, and she texted Bellamy as soon as the sun rose to tell him to calm down.

Bellamy knew that Clarke had to drive Wells to the airport and Raven even agreed to tell him when the best time for him to show up would be since she woke up early to make sure Madi had someone there if she were to wake up. Around seven o’clock he gets a text from Raven saying that Clarke should be back asleep if he wanted to show up to surprise her which, of course he did.

Raven unlocked the door for him then went back to the couch where she had paused a video game then he took off his shoes and slipped into Clarke’s room. Her blonde hair was fanned out over her dark blue sheets and he realized that her sheets were nearly the same color as her eyes. He climbs onto the bed and the bed dips beneath his weight, and he lays on his side and props his head on his hand.

Clarke’s eyes blink open and she smiles immediately then scoots closer to him. _She’s adorable_. “Happy Mother’s Day, Princess.”

“Mmm…yes it is.” Clarke throws an arm around his waist and a leg over his hips. Bellamy lays down further and wraps her in his arms, one of his hands going into her hair while the other traces lazy circles on her thigh. She hums. “Can we just stay in bed today.”

“Do you want to?” Bellamy’s fingers move up her thigh a little more and she pushes her leg further over his hip, making his hand go even higher. He chuckles before pulling her hair lightly so she looks up at him. “If we do, then we won’t do anything I have planned.”

“What about what I have planned?” Clarke quirks and eyebrow at him and he smiles, leaning forward and rubbing their noses together.

“And what do you want to do, baby?”

“You.” Clarke grins and he laughs.

“Then I think I can make an exception.” Bellamy smiles before giving her an open mouth kiss and he loves when she melts into him. “It is your day after all.”

Surprisingly, the two of them had enough time to do absolutely _everything_ they both had in mind _and_ get dressed before Madi came rushing into the room with a handmade Mother’s Day card. She settled between him and Clarke, not saying anything of Bellamy being there when she woke up, and the three of them spent most of the morning just lying in bed just chatting about nothing in particular. Clarke tried to get some information out of Bellamy about where he was taking them, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Hey, Madi, why don’t you and I go make mommy some breakfast while she gets ready?” Bellamy asks and Madi nods her head and grins.

“Food for mama!”

“Yep, food for mama.” Bellamy smiles and lifts Madi off the bed with him. “We’ll start breakfast and you can take all the time you need.” He leans down and gives Clarke a kiss which makes Madi giggle. “It is your day after all.”

Clarke smiles up at the two of them and he’s pretty sure he can see her eyes begin to shine. “Okay.” The smile she gives him is so soft and beautiful he’s tempted to just stay wrapped up in her arms all day.

“Okay.” Bellamy gives her one last kiss on the forehead before he and Madi slip out of the room and head towards the kitchen.

He sits Madi down on the counter in front of him as he begins looking through the cabinets. “Pancakes!” Madi tries to turn around to look into the cabinets. “Mama likes pancakes.”

“Mama likes pancakes?” Bellamy echoes and Madi nods her head. “Well then pancakes it is.”

Madi helped Bellamy get all of the ingredients out of the cabinets and then she sat on the counter and Bellamy guided her as she put all of the ingredients into the bowl. When it came to stirring the pancake batter, a little bit of the flour flew out of the bowl and settled on the two of them, but Madi giggled and Bellamy couldn’t bothered to be worried about cleaning.

At some point, Bellamy put on the Disney playlist that he made for August and Madi began singing along to a song from _The Jungle Book_. Raven had fallen asleep on the couch but woke up halfway into the third song, and said that she would take over breakfast if Bellamy wanted to ‘ _clean up_ ’.

He grins as he slips into the bathroom where Clarke is taking a bath. “I think I need to clean up too.” Clarke’s eyes opened when he entered the bathroom and a lazy smile spreads across her face. Her hair is piled on top of her head and there are bubbles reaching her chin.

“Do you now?” She raises and eyebrow at him and smiles, looking him up and down. “Well, what are you just standing there for?”

Bellamy’s smile doesn’t leave his face as he tugs his shirt over his head, then he takes off his jeans and his boxers together. He stands there for a second, letting Clarke take him in before he walks towards the edge of her tub.

“Where am I going to sit?” Clarke gives him a dazzling smile as she sits up and scoots forward a little, letting him climb into the tub behind her. “This water is fucking scalding.” He slowly lowers himself into the tub as Clarke giggles and once he’s fully in, though still feeling as if his skin is going to burn off, his arms go around her waist as he pulls her back into him and she hums. “How can you bathe in something so hot?”

“It’s not hot,” Clarke murmured as she rested her head against his shoulder, “you’re just crazy.”

“I’m crazy?” Bellamy teased.

“Mhm…”

“You’re the one bathing in the fires of hell.” Bellamy kissed her temple and she hummed again. “But I’m glad you’re relaxing.”

“Yes, I am.” Clarke opens her eyes and looks at him. “You have flour on your nose.”

“Madi and I were making breakfast.” He smiles at her. “Which reminds me, we can’t stay in here all day. I have a lot planned for us.”

“Okay.” Clarke grins as she reaches up and cleans the flour off his nose.

After they finish bathing, Bellamy tells Clarke to close her eyes as he leads her down the hallway to the kitchen and when she opens them, Bellamy, Raven, and Madi all scream ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ and Madi wraps her mom into a big hug while Bellamy gives her the flowers he had bought before he got to her house. Madi sits in Clarke’s lap while they all eat and Bellamy can’t seem to quit touching Clarke whether it’s his hand on her free leg, or holding her hand, or tucking hair behind her ear.

When they finish eating, he tells her that he’s going to take her and Madi to see the new Dumbo movie which makes Clarke grin. She had been talking about wanting to go see it so he figured what better day to go than today? It doesn’t take them long to get settled into the truck and they’re off to the movies. When he parks, he runs over to open Clarke’s door and he gets Madi out of her car seat too. Clarke tries to buy the tickets but Bellamy beats her to it.

“Today is _your_ day, baby, let me take care of you.”

Clarke didn’t seem like she was used to someone saying something like that to her, but she gave him a soft smile and nodded her head. So, Bellamy went on and bought a large drink for Clarke and a large tub of popcorn along with a bag of M&Ms that she wanted, and got a Hi-C for Madi before taking their seats. Madi tried to sit in between Bellamy and Clarke like how she does at the house, but Clarke seemed adamant about sitting next to Bellamy, so the three of them watched the movie with Madi sitting in Clarke’s lap and Bellamy’s arm around Clarke’s shoulders.

Just as they’re leaving, Madi catches sight of a claw machine and makes a line straight for it which leads to Bellamy trying his best to get her a stuffed animal. He hasn’t played one of these machines since he was in high school and Octavia was younger, and he wanted to get her a stuffed animal since she had gotten her tonsils out. Fortunately, Bellamy is able to catch one of the stuffed animals and gets lucky when he knocks a second one into the bin. Now, both of his girls are leaving with their own stuffed Dumbo plushies. Noticing Clarke smiling as big as Madi over the stuffed animal makes his heart soar.

Next, Bellamy doesn’t tell her where he’s taking them, but he pulls into the parking lot of a new restaurant that had just opened about a month ago, The Dropship Bar & Grill. Clarke turns towards him, grinning from ear to ear.

“We’re eating here?”

“Yeah, I remember you eyeing this place when we drove past it last week,” Bellamy rubs the back of his neck, “surprise?”

As an answer, Clarke leans across the console and gives him a kiss. Bellamy had been nervous about bringing her here since she hadn’t said anything about it, but from the way she had been staring at the place when they drove past it, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least see if she wanted to eat here. If she didn’t, he could’ve found another place to go. He chuckles against her lips and Madi giggles from the back seat which causes the two of them to pull apart.

Bellamy carries Madi in one arm while holding Clarke’s hand with the other as they enter the restaurant. It’s a mix between modern and futuristic with metal tables and a bar that’s glowing from neon lights placed under it, and the ceiling is painted like outer space with the lights acting as stars.

“Hi, welcome to the Dropship, how many in your party?” The hostess smiles and Bellamy gets a table for three. As soon as they’re seated, someone arrives with a high chair for Madi and the hostess places some crayons and coloring pages in front of her. “Can I get y’all started with your drinks?”

They order their drinks, root beer for Bellamy, Dr. Pepper for Clarke, and apple juice for Madi, then the waitress gives them a few minutes to pick over the menu. Madi and Clarke get into an argument over what Madi is going to be eating, since Madi seems adamant about eating only chicken nuggets, but after a minute Bellamy steps in.

“How about you get chicken nuggets but you also eat some fruit, then we get ice cream?”

“Ice cream?”

“Yeah,” Bellamy smiles, “ice cream. But you have to eat all of the fruit, okay?”

Madi seems to think about this for a second before nodding her head. “Okay.”

They order their food and while they’re waiting, Clarke tries grilling Bellamy on anything else he may have in mind but he doesn’t let on. He can tell that not knowing is driving Clarke mad, but he’s having fun watching her go through all of the potential places they could be going. After another burst of questions, Clarke sighs and leans back in her seat, narrowing her eyes at him. He can help but smirk.

“Soon, Princess.” He winks at her and she chuckles, then the food arrives.

The food is great and despite the snacks that they had eaten in the movie theater, all of them dig into their plate. They’re just finishing up their food, raving about how delicious it is but they both agree that they would pick Demeter’s Diner any day. They start to talk about whether or not they want to split a dessert or not when someone Bellamy really wishes wasn’t there comes up to them.

“Bellamy?” Both Bellamy and Clarke turn to look at Echo standing a few feet from their table.

“Echo.” Bellamy tries to keep his voice casual, but he doesn’t smile at her. Their work relationship is still being mended, but since they aren’t going to be working with each other over the summer, there’s nothing being said between the two of them.

Echo glances towards Clarke and Madi and gives them a small nod. “What brings you here?”

“We’re celebrating Mother’s Day,” Bellamy gives Clarke a warm smile before turning back to his colleague, “you?”

“I’m doing the same, actually.”

“Oh, is—”

“Echo, the bill is paid.” A man Bellamy has never seen before walks up behind Echo with an older woman following behind him. The man nods at Bellamy before settling on Clarke, then he grins. “Clarke Griffin!” The man’s voice booms in the restaurant and Clarke chuckles.

“Hey, Azgeda.” The man walks around Echo and bends down, giving Clarke a kiss on the cheek.

“Happy Mother’s Day.” The man smiles at Clarke and Bellamy has to keep himself from getting upset at the man kissing Clarke on the cheek.

“Thank you, Roan, I hear you’re celebrating too?”

“Oh, yes, Clarke, this is my mother, Nia Azgeda.” The man, Roan, motions towards his mother and Clarke stands, shaking the woman’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Azgeda, happy Mother’s Day.”

“And to you too, Clarke,” Nia smiles then turns her attention to Bellamy and Madi. “The two of you have a beautiful child.”

Bellamy can’t help the smile that makes it’s way onto his face, and he doesn’t miss the slight blush on Clarke’s cheeks when she simply says, “thank you.” The fact that Clarke hadn’t corrected the woman stirs something in Bellamy’s chest and when Clarke looks at him, worry etched onto her face, he can’t help but grin at her.

Echo on the other hand, well, she looks like she’s just swallowed something sour. “Roan, Ms. Azgeda, this my boyfriend Bellamy.”

“Nice to meet you.” Roan holds out his hand and Bellamy shakes it. “How do you know Echo?”

“We work together at the University.”

“Oh, that’s nice, maybe we’ll see each other on campus.” Roan smiles at Echo before turning back to Clarke. “It was nice seeing you again, Clarke,” he leans over and gives her another kiss on the cheek, “tell Raven I said hi.” He rubs Madi’s head before he and his mom say goodbye, heading towards the door with Echo following them.

“That was weird.” Clarke breathes out, chuckling as she takes her seat again. “Echo didn’t seem to like the fact that I didn’t correct Nia.”

“Ah, don’t worry about her.” Bellamy smiles then reaches over, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It doesn’t matter what she thinks.”

“And what do you think?” Clarke catches her bottom lip between her teeth as she looks up at him, and Bellamy’s heart threatens to melt. Octavia’s laughing voice echoes in his head, _it’s crazy_. And it is. They’ve only known each other for three weeks but when someone mistakes Madi for his and Clarke’s kid, he can’t deny that he loves it. _Maybe I am a little crazy_.

“I think I like it.” Bellamy smiles.

“Really?”

“Really.” Bellamy leans in and gives her a kiss. “But how do you know Roan?”

“Oh god, him and Raven dated for a few months and those two never seemed to leave the bedroom,” Clarke groans. “But when they did, he and I always got along, though Raven said that Echo never left them alone even though they weren’t a thing anymore.”

“She did?” And, honestly, he’s not surprised.

“That’s what Raven says,” Clarke shrugs, “if you ask me, I think you dodged a bullet.”

“Yeah, me too.” Bellamy gives her a soft smile before they both turn back to their menus.

In the end, Clarke said that it was a nice day, even if it was a little hot, and Bellamy agreed, saying that they could get ice cream at the park if they wanted. Which, Madi heard ice cream and park and that pretty much settled it, but she did have to be convinced a little that they were, in fact, going to get ice cream.

Madi claps excitedly when they get to the park and Clarke can’t seem to quit smiling as she gets Madi out of her car seat. Seeing Clarke look so happy, despite the fact that Bellamy knew she was hurting since she had to drive Wells to the airport that same morning, made his heart do funny things.

Once they get their and grab their ice cream cones, Clarke and Bellamy walk hand in hand while Madi runs around chasing some of the butterflies in between getting licks of the ice cream. They both settle at the same picnic table that had sat at the first time they came to the park together. Bellamy watches Clarke as she looks out over the lakes while Madi plays in the grass.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Clarke’s piercing blue eyes turn towards him and he can feel his heart beat a little faster. And, god, he loves it. _What has she done to me?_

“I was just thinking about what Nia said.”

Bellamy’s eyebrows crease together. “What about it?” 

“Well,” Clarke smiles, though Bellamy can see a blush rise to her cheeks, “she’s not the first person to realize that Madi looks like you.”

 _No, she isn’t._ “What are you getting at, Princess?” Bellamy smirks.

“I don’t know, I just—“ she looks over at Madi whose playing with a stick, “I wonder what would’ve happened if I had ran into you first.” 

Clarke’s voice was soft as she said it and understanding washes over Bellamy. He reaches across the table and takes her hand. “I’m not the same person I was three years ago, Clarke, but even if I was, you wouldn’t have met Raven and there’s the chance that Madi wouldn’t be here right now.” He glances over at Madi and smiles. “I’m happy with how things have turned out.” And he really wasn’t.

“Me too.” Clarke smiles then leans over the picnic table to give him a kiss.

They spend an hour at the park and Bellamy ends up pushing Clarke and Madi on the swings again. When the two of them seem to have had their fill of the park, Bellamy loads them all up into his truck and takes them to his next destination. The zoo.

Clarke started to worry, saying that she didn’t think they would be walking around the zoo so she didn’t bring a stroller but Bellamy tells her he’s got it under control and picks Madi up, setting her on his shoulders. As they walk around, Madi points out the different animals that catch her attention and Clarke gives random information about some of them which surprises Bellamy. She merely shrugs.

“Finn had been _obsessed_ with nature documentaries and despite my best efforts to tune them out, it didn’t work.”

“I think they’re nice to look at, but they’re not really my thing.”

“Of course they’re not,” Clarke smiles up at him, “you’re more obsessed with the history documentaries and how the Colosseum was a place to contract malaria.”

“More how there were gladiator fights and lion feedings, but yeah, pretty much.” Bellamy winks at her and Clarke giggles. “Ooh, I think I spy snowballs.”

“But we just had ice cream.” Clarke’s eyebrows furrow together as she looks between him and the snowball stand. “It’s too much sugar.”

“Clarke,” he says and she looks up at him, “do you want a snowball?”

Clarke looks at the snowball stand again. “Yes.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” Bellamy takes Clarke hand while keeping hold of Madi with his other and he leads his girl to the snowball stand. Madi seems ecstatic that she’s getting to have ice cream _and_ snowballs in the same day, but when Clarke tells her that it’s only because it’s a special occasion Madi nods.

“It’s mommy day.”

“It’s mommy _and daughter_ day.” Bellamy watches as Clarke scoops Madi up into her arms and starts peppering kisses across her face. “Because I wouldn’t be a mommy without you.” Madi giggles as Clarke continues kissing her. “I love you, Madi.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

 _Cuteness overload, I’m dying._ Bellamy can’t take his eyes off the two girls in front of him. _They’re adorable_. While they eat their snowballs, Bellamy can’t help but notice how similarly the two of them are. Whenever they first bit into their snowballs they each scrunched up their noses and smiled and did a little move. They both even started wiggling around in their seats at one point. _I could spend forever with these two_.

The thought pops into Bellamy’s head before he can process it, but he realizes that it’s true. The two people in front of him have him wrapped around both of their fingers and he’s pretty sure he never wants to let them go. Which, again, is insane because he’s only known them for three weeks, but they’re just so _wonderful_.

Before long, Madi is beginning to fall asleep on Bellamy’s shoulders so he takes to carrying her and they make their way back to his truck so he can bring them home. Madi sleeps during the entire ride and Bellamy’s hand stays firmly on Clarke’s thigh, his thumb rubbing across the material of her shorts. When they make it back to her house, Bellamy carries Madi to her bed and they both tuck her in before joining Raven out in the living room.

“Fun day?” Raven asks, smirking at them. Bellamy smiles.

“Yeah, really fun.” Clarke looks over at him. “Oh, we ran into Roan today while we were eating, he says hi.”

“Roan?” Raven’s eyebrows nearly touch her hairline and Clarke plops down onto the couch.

“Yep, Roan, and Echo, and Roan’s mom Nia.”

“Echo was there too?” Raven looks between Clarke and Bellamy.

“Yeah, that was, uh, something.” Bellamy says, sitting onto the couch next to Clarke.

“Well, I guess she works fast.” Raven snorts.

“She looked like she was ready to punch something when Roan’s mom said that Bellamy and I had a beautiful daughter.”

Raven chokes on the Gatorade she had been drinking. “She said what?”

“Yeah, and I didn’t correct her. I didn’t think it would be wise to go into that whole story.”

“And you went along with it?” Raven turns her gaze towards Bellamy who doesn’t back down from it.

“Yes, I did.”

Raven considers him for a moment before smirking. “Good.” Raven turns and lays back down on the love seat. “If the two of you want to continue you’re day of love then I can watch the little one.” _Yes please._

“You’d do that?”

“Obviously.” Raven turns her head around and grins. “You’ve spent most of your day with her, Clarke, I’m sure you could do with a few more hours of just the two of you.”

Clarke turns to Bellamy who grins. “Sounds fun.”

“Okay, thank you, Raven!” Clarke squeals before jumping up and smothering her friend in a hug then she grabs Bellamy’s hand and they head out the door.

“So, anywhere in particular you want to go, Princess?”

“Mmm…surprise me.” Clarke props her head up on her hand and smiles at him. He grins at her before turning around and pulling out of her driveway.

They make it ten minutes before Clarke starts asking Bellamy where they’re going. Eventually, Clarke settles back into her seat and takes to looking around much like how she did when he wouldn’t tell her that they were going to paintball. He had been thinking about bringing Clarke to his house for a little while now, since they always seemed to just be at hers, but he wasn’t sure how she would react.

Clarke knew that Bellamy grew up with not a lot of money, he had told her as much, but he didn’t tell her about how they grew up other than that. When they finally pull onto the gravel driveway, Bellamy has to take a deep breath. As they drive, Bellamy notices Clarke looking all around and taking in the big trees that line the driveway, and when they come to a stop in front of the house, Clarke’s mouth drops open.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Clarke breathes out and Bellamy smiles as he hops out of the truck to open her door. “Bellamy, it’s beautiful.”

“Do you want to see inside?”

“Yes, please.” Bellamy takes her hand and leads her towards his house.

He unlocks the front door and motions for her to walk in as he shuts the door behind them. Clarke starts wandering towards the living room so Bellamy lets go of her hand, opting to just sit back and watch her explore. He leans against the doorframe of the living room, watching as her head swivels around to take in the artwork on the walls and he sees when she catches sight of the pictures on the fire place mantle. Pictures of him, and Octavia, a few of the two of them with their mom, pictures he hasn’t ever thought of changing.

“This is your house.” Clarke turns to look at him.

“Yeah, it’s been in my family for a long time.” He pushes off the doorframe and walks towards her stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I thought it was about time I showed you.”

“Bellamy, this place is beautiful. Like, this is gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Bellamy grins, amused at Clarke’s reaction. “Want the tour?”

“Please.” Bellamy holds his hand out for her to take again.

He walks her through the living room and across the hall into the dining room, then into the kitchen, then from the kitchen into the sitting room, before he brings her up the stairs and shows her the bedrooms. There’s two guest rooms that are furnished with beds, two dressers, and two night stands, then he shows her Octavia’s bedroom which hasn’t been changed since she first entered high school. Bellamy explains that after she and Lincoln moved in together, he couldn’t bring himself to clear the room out, though Octavia would’ve fought him on it anyway. He tells Clarke that everyone will get together at the house and talk about ‘the old days’ and just take a break from the adult world and relive their high school experiences. He moves on to show her Miller’s room and then finally his bedroom. His bedroom had once been his mother’s since it was the master bedroom, but he moved into it a few years ago once him and Octavia decided it was finally time to clear some of her things out.

“My great-grandfather bought this place a long time ago and since then it’s stayed in the family,” he explains. “But it’s expensive to keep up so that’s why my mother struggled so much. Single mom, two kids, large house,” Bellamy rubs the back of his neck, “she didn’t let on how hard things were on her but when I got older I realized just what she went through.”

“I’m sorry, Bellamy.” Clarke places her hand on the side of his face and he leans into it. “Your mother sounds like she was an amazing woman.”

A dull ache appears in Bellamy’s chest, but it’s not as painful as it usually is. A ghost of a smile makes its way onto his lips. “Yeah, she was.” Bellamy looks around the room. “It’s easier since Miller is living with me, and we’ll spend time cleaning the whole house every few weeks. Octavia stops by when she can to help, and Monty started a garden in the backyard and set up all the flowers in the front. This place was the go-to spot for high school graduation pictures.” Bellamy smiles at the memory of wanting to get a picture of himself skateboarding down the stairs in the front which led to him having a cast a graduation.

“So it’s just you and Miller living here?” Clarke asks.

“Yeah, when him and Bryan broke up we just decided it would be easier if he moved in.”

“And you had been Miller and Murphy’s roommate when you started college?”

“Well, technically they would’ve been my roommates but, yeah.”

“For some reason I was under the impression y’all lived in an apartment.”

“Nope, I was the lucky one that already had a house,” Bellamy smiles then rubs the back of his neck, “this place saw a lot of parties.”

“So Bellamy Blake was a partier _and_ a heartbreaker, I’m shocked.” Clarke smiles and wraps her arms around his neck. “Should I be worried about how many girls have been in this room?”

“Not one.” Clarke’s eyebrows crease Bellamy smirks, bringing his hands up to rest on her waist. “Always used the spare bedroom.”

Clarke barks out a laugh and Bellamy leans forward, pressing their foreheads together. “Would you like to be the first?”

He hadn’t this in his head when he decided to bring her here, necessarily, but now that she’s standing in front of him in his room, he can’t think of anything else. A lazy smile spreads across her face, but he can see how wide her pupils have gone.

“Getting laid twice in one day? Is it my birthday?”

Bellamy grins before backing her up towards the bed. When her legs press against it, he picks her up and practically throws her onto it, causing a startled laugh to escape from her mouth. Bellamy settles above her, one of his legs between hers as he props himself up on his elbows.

“Nope, it’s only Mother’s Day.” Bellamy smirks before leaning down and kissing her neck. And he has a lot more planned for her birthday. Clarke shivers beneath him and her hands bunch up in the material of his shirt. _I could never get tired of this_.

Two hours later, Clarke gets a text from Raven saying that Madi’s been pretty much inconsolable since she woke up and found out that Clarke and Bellamy left without her, so Bellamy drives her back home. As soon as the two of them walk through the door, Madi throws herself into Clarke’s arms and cries saying that she wanted to go too, but the way Raven is looking at the two of them, she knows that Madi going is the last thing they would’ve needed. In order to make it up to her, all of them settle into the living room and let Madi choose whatever movie she wants to watch and she takes her place between Clarke and Bellamy on the couch.

Clarke and Madi both fall asleep around the same time, and Clarke is smiling in her sleep. Bellamy picks Madi up first and brings her into her room, tucking her into bed and giving her a kiss on the head, then he carries Clarke into her room and slips under the covers with her. She immediately rolls over and bunches herself up against his side.

“Best Mother’s Day ever.” She murmurs against his chest and he can feel his heart expand.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I loved it.” Clarke kisses his side then snuggles closer to him. Bellamy falls asleep with a smile on his face too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go down with this ship and even if it doesn't become cannon, we have Beliza :)
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the girls' birthdays :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know this is a week late, but since I changed my major to English I'm having to write a lot more for my classes which doesn't leave much time for just writing my stories. And this story takes longer to write than most since I have to make sure it lines up with Clarke's version. But, with all that being said, thank you for sticking around and I'm sorry I've kept you waiting for this update for so long <3

Over the next month, Bellamy feels like he’s walking on cloud nine. Ever since Mother’s Day, he and Clarke seem incapable of leaving each other alone, but they made sure to hangout with all of their friends too. If Bellamy thought that Mother’s Day was a big deal, he wasn’t prepared for the nervousness he would feel with Clarke _and_ Madi’s birthdays coming up. Miller just shook his head and laughed at him and Octavia hit him upside the head telling him to calm down, and the person who ended up helping him the most was Murphy.

“Calm down, you’re going to wear a hole in my floor.” Murphy grumbles from his place draped across the couch. “If you’re not going to talk then leave the beer and get out.”

“I want to do something for Clarke the day before her birthday so she can relax, but I don’t know what to get her.”

“Really? You’re coming to _me_ for girl advice?”

“Miller keeps laughing at me and Octavia says I’m just being an idiot.” Bellamy sighs and then sinks into the arm chair. “I don’t know what to do. She said that she was just going to celebrate with Madi at the party and made me promise not to do anything else, but I know how stressful the party planning has been and trying to make arrangements to pick her family up from the airport, so I just want to help her relax.”

Murphy doesn’t take his eyes off the video game when he says, “You sure you can’t just bang her to make her relax?”

“I’m not about to talk to you about my sex life.”

Murphy sighs then pauses the game. “Look man, my tip is to just surprise her with something. It doesn’t have to be anything major, since she told you not to do that, but something for her. Like you said, she’s been busy with party planning and family business, so when’s the last time she did something _just for herself_?”

Bellamy had no idea how to react. _Murphy actually makes sense._ “She’s always saying how she can’t get her nails to come out as well on her right hand as her left,” a thought starts forming in Bellamy’s head, “I can surprise her with a free trip to the nail salon.”

“And offer to watch the hobbit, girls love that stuff.” Murphy adds as he starts the game back.

Bellamy’s brows crease together. “I was already going to watch Madi.”

“I know, but let’s live in a world where you’re _not_ completely head over hills for this woman and her kid. It makes me want to barf.”

“Fuck off, Murphy.” Bellamy throws one of the couch pillows towards Murphy who blocks it with his controller.

Later that day, Bellamy texts Raven and asks if she thinks that the nail salon would be a good idea and is relieved when she answers almost immediately.

_Fuck yes! She hasn’t gone to one since the day before her baby shower  
I’ll go with her and Zeke can help you watch Madi_

Bellamy texts Raven back and makes the arrangements for Clarke’s trip to be paid in full, no matter what she decides to get. When the day finally comes for Clarke and Raven to have some time together, Bellamy is surprised at just how excited Clarke is. She’s practically beaming even when she slaps him on the shoulder and tells him that he didn’t have to get her anything for the day, but he just shrugs and tells her that she deserves it.

“Whether you want to actually celebrate on your birthday or not, it doesn’t change the fact that it _is_ your birthday and you deserve to have some you time.”

Clarke’s smile gets wider and her eyes begin to shine which makes Bellamy a little sad. _Is she really not used to this?_ “Thank you, baby.” Clarke wraps her arms around his neck and presses herself against his chest. “Did you know that you’re amazing?”

“Now, princess, don’t you know it’s rude to talk about yourself?” Bellamy smiles as he leans down to give her a kiss. “You’re amazing.”

“No, you are.” Clarke giggles and it makes Bellamy’s heart flip.

“But I’m the amazingest and we need to go!” Raven grabs Clarke’s hand and starts leading her towards the front door.

“Amazingest isn’t a word, babe!” Zeke calls from his place at Madi’s little table where he’s coloring in Mike from _Monsters Inc._

“Of course it is!” Raven calls back. “We’ll be back later, try not to let Madi eat too many sweets.”

“Bye mama!” Madi waves her crayons in Clarke’s direction and Clarke blows her daughter a kiss.

“Bye, sweetheart. Be good for Bell and Uncle Zeke!”

Raven wastes no time dragging Clarke out of the house but not before Clarke blows Bellamy a kiss. When the door closes behind them, Bellamy and Zeke look at each other and laugh. When Zeke heard that Raven wanted to go with Clarke to the nail salon, he offered to pay for her to go so it really could be a girls day for them.

“You know, Raven’s never really been one to get her nails done but she told me that the two of them used to go once a month just as a way to destress.” Zeke says.

“Yeah, Clarke told me that she likes having her nails painted but she can never get the right hand how she wants it. And apparently Raven is worse when she’s supposed to be using her good hand.”

“Yep, that’s Raven,” Zeke chuckles. “She can take a motor apart and put it back together but she can’t paint for anything.”

“Bell!” Madi calls his name and holds up the picture of Elsa that she had been coloring in. Despite being nearly three, she didn’t move outside the lines once.

“It looks wonderful, Madi!” Bellamy gushes and kneels down beside her chair. “You did such a good job.”

“Thank you.” Madi beams up at him. “Here.” She hands him the coloring book and a handful of crayons and Bellamy takes that as his cue to join the coloring party. Madi tells Bellamy how he’s doing good and in turn he asks her what color he should do for Merida’s dress. Bellamy can see so much of Clarke in Madi whenever she’s drawing that he actually begins to wonder what she could’ve gotten from Finn other than the dark hair. He can also see some of Raven’s mannerisms in her too whenever she gets frustrated that a color isn’t what she wanted.

“So, you ready for the,” Zeke starts but looks over at Madi then says, “p-a-r-t-y?”

Madi’s eyebrows crease together and she tilts her head to the side as she looks at Zeke, but then she just shrugs and goes back to coloring.

“As ready as I can be I guess.” Bellamy runs a hand through his hair. “I’m worried about meeting her parents though.”

“I’ve met them before, and not in the best circumstances, believe me.” The tips of Zeke’s ears turn red and Bellamy begins to wonder what could’ve possibly happened but decides it might be better not to ask.

“I don’t want to know.” Bellamy chuckles and Zeke starts laughing.

“Good choice.”

“Clarke’s done a lot for the party, but the girls have a few things up their sleeves that they hope she’ll like.” Bellamy smiles.

“Yeah, Raven’s told me about some of it. Y’all are really trying to make this a good day.”

“That’s what we do.” _For family_. The thought has been in the back of Bellamy’s mind for a while now, but he doesn’t want to voice it. Not yet. He’s worried that she might get scared if he brings up too quickly. _And it has been fast_.

Eventually, Madi gets bored with coloring and she pulls Bellamy and Zeke into having a tea party with her. She takes out some plastic crowns from her toy chest in her room and before the guys can even blink, they have princess crowns on their heads, pink cups in their hands, and their pinkies are out while they toast with Madi.

Neither of them can keep the smile off their faces when Madi starts talking about all of the things she has to do in her kingdom and the plans she begins making to make sure that her teddy bears don’t fight anymore. Bellamy had always thought that Octavia had an active imagination growing up, but she never planned out a kingdom like Madi.

The guys get so wrapped up in trying to help Madi figure out how to run her kingdom that they don’t hear the front door open, but when they hear the girls laugh they look up and smile. Madi turns around and hops out of her chair when she sees her mom.

“Tea!” Madi grabs one of Clarke’s hands and one of Raven’s then pulls them towards the table.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Clarke picks up the little plastic tea cup and pretends to take a sip of it. “You make a beautiful princess,” she smiles at Bellamy who grins even wider.

“Don’t worry, you’ll always be _my_ princess,” he winks and it makes Clarke giggle.

“What about me?” Zeke turns to Raven and pouts.

“You’re a pretty princess too, babe.” Raven smirks and Zeke smiles, nodding his head once before going back to drinking his tea.

The five of them drink their imaginary tea for a little longer before deciding it’s dinner time. Over the past few weeks, having dinner with each other has become a common thing, and if they’re not at Clarke and Raven’s, then their at someone else’s.

Once Madi is bathed and put to sleep, Zeke and Raven say their goodnights and head towards Raven’s room which leaves Clarke and Bellamy out in the living room by themselves. Bellamy is sitting on the couch with Clarke’s head in his lap as he runs his fingers through her golden hair. He may or may not be neurotically checking the clock, too. Counting down the minutes until he can tell Clarke happy birthday.

“There’s only an hour left until your birthday,” he murmurs and Clarke turns to look at him.

“And here I am, already falling asleep.” She gives him a lazy smile and he bends down, giving her a kiss.

“We can’t have that, princess.” He taps her side and she sits up, allowing him to stand.

“What do you mean?” He holds his hand out and she takes it, allowing him to pull her to her feet and down the hall.

“I’m not letting you go to sleep until the clock strikes midnight.” He grins and pushes open her door. “I want to be the first person to tell you happy birthday and give you your first present.”

Clarke quirks an eyebrow and smirks. “Oh yeah? And what’s that going to be?”

“Something I believe you’ll enjoy.” His eyes grow darker as closes the distance between them.

“Are you sure I will?” She teases and he winds his fingers into her hair.

“I know you will.” Is all he says before crashing his lips into hers.

When Bellamy wakes up, it’s just a little past 5:30AM and he wonders how he can be awake so early after having not gone to sleep until 1:00AM. He runs his hands over his face and turns to Clarke who’s still sound asleep beside him. Out of the two of them, he’s pretty sure she’s more tired than he is given what they did the night before. Or, more specifically, what _he_ did _to_ her.

He leans over and presses a soft kiss to her head which makes Clarke move further under the blankets. Bellamy smiles and then does his best to slip out of the bed, and her room, without waking her up. _What can I do_? Bellamy stretches once he’s in the hallway and then makes his way towards the kitchen. His body is screaming for caffeine but just as he’s about to use the Keurig, he remembers how Clarke likes her froufrou coffee. _Perfect_.

Bellamy doesn’t bother to change out of his pajamas and just pulls on his shoes and heads out the door. There’s a CC’s just five minutes from Clarke’s house so he heads there, trying to remember everyone’s coffee order. Thankfully, he and Zeke just prefer black coffee, but even though Raven will drink black coffee she prefers something less bitter, and Clarke likes her coffee to be like ice cream.

It takes longer for them to do his orders since the place just opened, and while he’s waiting he sees a stand of flowers inside the waiting area.

“Excuse me,” he calls to the barista. “Are those flowers for sale?”

The girl looks from him to the flowers. “Yeah, they are. You want to get some?”

“Yes, please. It’s my girlfriend’s birthday today.” A smile breaks across Bellamy’s face as he says it.

“And you’re surprising her with coffee and flowers? Where did she find you?” The barista laughs.

“In an airport.” Bellamy grins and the barista looks at him, seemingly waiting for him to say ‘just kidding’ but he never does. The girl nods her head and smiles then hands him two of the coffees.

“So, which bouquet do you want?”

Twenty minutes later, Bellamy is pulling back into Clarke’s driveway with a tray full of coffee and a bouquet of orange and pink roses. Just as he’s getting out of the truck, his phone goes off with a text from Clarke.

**Clarke**

**Clarke:** Where did you disappear to?

**Bellamy:** Your front door :)

Bellamy bounds up the steps and gently knocks on her front door. It doesn’t take her long to open the door and when she does, she gapes at him.

“Hello, my gorgeous birthday girl.” He smiles before straightening up and wrapping his free hand around Clarke’s waist. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up, wanted to surprise you and thought I had enough time.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it up to me.” Clarke smiles too and he leans down to kiss her as Madi barrels down the hall towards them.

“Bell!” The two of them pull apart and Clarke takes the tray of coffee and the flowers so Bellamy can pick Madi up.

“There’s the other birthday girl!” He grins then gives her a kiss on top of her head. “Happy Birthday, Madi.”

“Thank you.” Madi beams up at him and his smile gets a little bigger.

Raven and Zeke wake up not too long after and then a group chat for the party starts up too. Everyone had decided that they would start showing up around 11:00AM so they could get the barbeque pit going and make sure that they have enough time to finish whatever else needed to be done before the rest of Clarke’s family flies in at 12:00PM. It’s a hectic day, to say the least.

Bellamy, Madi, Raven, and Zeke all leave Clarke’s house at 11:30AM and head to Bellamy’s while Clarke heads to the airport. Bellamy had tried leaving earlier but Octavia had insisted he wait, saying that they had everything under control. Bellamy lets Clarke take his truck and he drives her car so she can have more room to pick everyone up from the airport.

When they finally pull into Bellamy’s driveway, there are already decorations on the front of the house and he can see people moving behind it. There’s ribbons wrapped around the trees and the pillars, and on the stairs and the second floor. There’s also balloons everywhere and it makes him wonder just when everyone started decorating.

Everyone screams happy birthday when Bellamy walks into the backyard carrying Madi and she giggles. Before long, Madi is running around with August while Miller and Monty set up a slip’n’slide and the girls start filling up buckets and buckets of water balloons.

Twenty minutes later, Bellamy gets a text from Wells saying that they’ve all landed and asks if Clarke’s birthday present is ready to go and Bellamy tells him that it is. Then Bellamy texts Clarke and lets her know that they’re all going to be in the backyard.

“Nervous?” Raven pops up at Bellamy’s shoulder.

“That obvious?”

“You haven’t been able to stand still since Wells texted you.” Raven snorts and shakes her head. “Abby Griffin can be intimidating when she wants to be but considering I had to listen to Clarke gush about you for thirty minutes to her, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“What about Kane? And Jaha? Jaha is a _politician_.”

“Kane and Jaha are both big softies when you get to know them.” Raven bends down and picks up a beer then hands it to Bellamy. “Calm down.”

“No promises.”

Raven laughs then heads to where Monty is getting the music set up. The wait between texting Clarke that they would all be in the backyard to her actually getting there was long enough to make Bellamy wonder if he was going to go insane, but Madi keeps him occupied.

Whenever Clarke and everyone come around the corner of the house, Bellamy is in the middle of swinging Madi around in the air and when he catches sight of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye he keeps grinning. Clarke’s face looks how he expects his does.

“Hey! Y’all are here!” The music gets turned down and everyone turns to look at Clarke and the people behind her.

“Welcome back, Jaha, ready for a rematch?” Murphy smirks as he makes his way towards them.

“You’re not ready for a rematch.” Wells grins.

“Alright, everyone, this is my mom Abby, my step-father Marcus Kane, and Wells’ father Thelonious Jaha.” Her Abby, Marcus, and Jaha wave at everyone. Clarke quickly runs through introductions for everyone else and before long, Kane is talking to Bellamy and Lincoln about what they’re cooking.

As Bellamy talks to Kane, he can feel himself beginning to relax more and more, but when he sees Abbigail Griffin walking towards him, he has to suppress a gulp.

“Hello, Bellamy, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Abby cuts in and holds out her hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you too, Mrs. Kane.” He shakes it and gives her a bright smile.

“Oh, Abby is fine, Bellamy. You have a wonderful house.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ve tried to keep it up.”

“Well, you’ve done a wonderful job of it.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.”

Bellamy lets out a huge breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and Abby keeps talking to him about the house and how much she loves it. When she asks about the flowers, Bellamy pulls Monty away from the music station. And even though Monty seems shy at first, he quickly goes into talking about flowers and gardening with Clarke’s mom and starts giving her some tips.

“Care to dance, Princess?” Bellamy stands beside Clarke with his hand held out. “Why Should I Worry” from _Oliver and Company_ is playing and Clarke smiles.

“Okay, but I can’t dance.”

“Neither can I, baby.” Bellamy grins then walks her out onto an empty patch of grass. Bellamy twirls her before bringing his hand to rest on her waist and Clarke places her hand on his shoulder, linking their free hands together. They start swaying together and Bellamy’s grin widens before he starts singing along to the song, causing Clarke to laugh.

“Why should I worry? Why should I care? I may not have a dime, but I got street savoire faire…”

Bellamy twirls Clarke around again and she throws her head back to laugh. Since she’s shown up, the smile hasn’t left Clarke’s face and Bellamy is pretty determined to make sure it stays there. Some people laugh from beside them and Bellamy turns to see Abby laughing at something Kane had told her. A thought jumps into his mind and he has to look away. _Too early_.

The next song that gets played is “You’re Welcome” from Moana and Octavia takes to dancing with August while Clarke picks up Madi. Lincoln and Bellamy join in too, and before long there’s two giggling kids and every adult is grinning from ear to ear.

They all spend the new couple of hours singing and dancing, eating hot dogs and crawfish, and swimming but before long the kids need to be put down for their naps. Like usual, Bellamy joins Clarke in putting Madi to sleep and when they get back outside, Abby motions for Clarke to join her at one of the rocking chairs on the patio so Bellamy heads back to the barbeque pit.

Kane is still talking to Lincoln but when Bellamy walks up, Kane smiles at him. “You seem to have a reputation for being a good cook.”

“Eh,” Bellamy shrugs, “I think I do okay. It’s not like O can really cook.”

Lincoln laughs. “Yeah, that’s where I come in.”

“I tried teaching Clarke how to cook when she was younger, but she’s better at memorizing the bones in the body and color theory than recipes.”

Bellamy throws his head back and laughs. _Oh, don’t I know_. “She’s gotten better though. I’ve taught her how to make pancakes and bacon, next we’re going to try making chicken.”

“Linc!” Octavia calls to her husband.

“That’s my queue. Excuse me.” Lincoln heads over to where Octavia is which leaves Bellamy alone with Kane.

“You and Clarke seem to be very happy together.” Kane says as he looks to where Madi is running around the yard with Maya chasing after her. “And Madi seems to love you.”

“Yeah,” Bellamy smiles, “they’re both pretty amazing.”

Kane simply nods his head. “Do you have any plans while you’re with Clarke?”

“Um…” Of course Bellamy has _plans_ , but he doesn’t want to sound crazy. “I just want to make her happy, for however long she’ll have me.”

Kane turns his attention back towards Bellamy and smiles. “I’m still saying that and I’m married to the love of my life.”

Bellamy laughs. Kane’s words echo in his mind and it makes Bellamy wonder if he’ll be saying that when he’s Kane’s age. Despite what Bellamy may have told himself a few years ago, he didn’t know that there was a woman like Clarke Griffin in the world and now that he has her there’s no way he’s going to let her go.

“Bellamy!” He turns around and Clarke lets a water balloon fly, hitting him square in the chest.

“ _Princess_ ,” Bellamy grins and Clarke giggles before throwing another.

“Water balloon fight!” Someone calls from off to the side.

“You asked for it.” Bellamy’s grin widens before he heads towards the closest bucket of water balloons and Clarke screams, running towards the other one.

“Girls against boys!” Emori yells as she and Octavia grab a full bucket of balloons and run towards the pool, hiding behind the bushes.

Marcus, Jaha, and Abby all decide to sit out while Marcus and Jaha protect the barbeque pit and the boiling crawfish from flying balloons. The guys put the water balloons into their shirts but since the girls were mostly dressed for swimming, they had to stay near the bucket. Octavia had wickedly good aim and ended up hitting Jasper in the back of the head and Lincoln in the stomach, Emori seemed to be going to take Murphy out because she threw one balloon and hit him straight in the no-go zone, bringing him down, and then there was Clarke. Bellamy knew that she wasn’t a very good shot with a paintball gun, and it seemed like she wasn’t a very good shot with water balloons either.

Eventually, the girls break from their group and spread out, but that was a bad decision. Bellamy aims at Octavia and hits her in the back and then he can hear the squishing of wet grass behind him. When he turns around, Clarke jumps and throws a water balloon directly in his face. Stunned, he doesn’t move for a second but then he shakes his hair out and starts towards her.

“That’s it.” Bellamy grins and Clarke yelps, turning to run away from him. But she doesn’t get far. Bellamy’s arms wrap around her waist and he picks her up.

“Bellamy! Put me down!”

“No can do, babe, you started this and I’m finishing it.” Bellamy keeps grinning.

All Clarke is able to say is “Bellamy!” before he throws her into the pool. He chuckles when she goes under but when she comes up gasping for air, he feels a little bad. “Bellamy Blake!” Clarke swims to the side of the pool where Bellamy is standing.

“What’s the matter, Princess, can’t take the heat?” He squats down in front of her, the smile never leaving his face.

“I think you’ll find that I can take it just fine.” Clarke smiles up at him and rests her arms on the concrete. Bellamy notices the way she bites her bottom lip and how her eyes move towards his lips. Images from the night before flash in his mind as he leans forward to kiss her, but instead of a kiss Bellamy is met with Clarke grabbing his shirt and cold water.

When Bellamy comes up he wipes the water from his face and shakes out his hair. “Hey, that’s cheating!”

“All’s fair in love and war.” She teases and he swims towards her, wrapping one arm around her waist and holding on to the side of the pool with the other. She wraps her legs around his waist and hooks her arms around his neck.

“And which one is this?” He asks, looking at her through half-lidded eyes. He already knows what it is for him, but he can’t tell her. _Not yet._

“Hmm…I haven’t decided yet.”

“Let me know when you do,” Is what he says before leaning in to kiss her. Her words make his heart leap and the way she threads her fingers into his hair makes him melt into her.

Despite the children having only been asleep for forty-five minutes, they wake up after the water balloon fight is over so everyone decides to go ahead and sing happy birthday for the two birthday girls. Clarke puts a princess hat on Madi who beams up at her and Bellamy comes up to put one on Clarke. When everyone is done singing, Clarke and Madi both blow out the candles and the sight of the two of them smiling together is enough to make Bellamy see the rest of his life before him. Then it’s time for presents.

Madi gets some coloring books, Bellamy got her an indoor castle playhouse, and Raven got her a little workbench since Madi always liked playing at hers, a few had given her clothes, and Octavia and Lincoln had given her a doodle board. As for Clarke’s presents, she gets a lot of art supplies, then Bellamy and Wells nod at each other so Bellamy disappears into the house and comes out with a guitar similar to the one Monty has.

“Bellamy, it’s beautiful.” Clarke’s eyes are wide as she reaches out to take it.

“I can’t take all the credit.” Bellamy smiles then nods towards Wells.

“You helped with this?” Clarke asks.

“Yeah, we talked about how we like hearing you sing and I may have mentioned that you used to play.”

“A long time ago.” Clarke stares at the guitar in her hands. “I don’t even know if I remember how.”

“Here.” Monty gets up and kneels down in front of her, helping her place her fingers on the strings. “There you go, strum.”

“I think I have something,” Clarke smiled before repositioning her fingers. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star,” Clarke said as she strummed the notes, “ta-dah!” She laughed and everyone joined in, Madi clapping the loudest.

“I can teach you, if you want,” Monty offers and Clarke smiles. Seeing her face lit up makes him not want to quit looking at her.

“I’d love that.” Clarke sets the guitar down then wraps Bellamy in a hug. “Thank you, I love it.” Bellamy kisses the top of her head and she turns to Wells, giving him a hug too. “And thank you, too.”

“I expect to hear a lot of songs coming out of this, Griffin.”

“Maybe.” Clarke grins. Wells looks at Bellamy and winks.

“Crawfish is ready!” Lincoln calls from near the pot and Bellamy’s stomach growls. Everyone leaves the presents on the table then heads towards the designated eating tables. Bellamy falls in step beside Clarke, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Good birthday?”

“The best birthday.” She smiles up at him before stretching up to kiss him. “I love it.”

“Good.” Bellamy smiles down at her. There’s words that threaten to fall out of his mouth but he bites the inside of his cheek. It’s too early for much of what Bellamy is thinking, but he can’t help it. He takes Clarke’s hand and kisses it. _I want to make her happy for as long as she’ll have me_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Bellamy, he just doesn't know what to do with himself lol 
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Father's Day and Bellamy is in his feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An early update! I'm going to be busy for the rest of the week so I wanted to go ahead and get this up before I forgot! I'm also going to be really busy for the next two weeks but I'm still trying make room for at least some writing every day <3

When Bellamy wakes up, he reaches out for Clarke but she isn’t there. When he first started staying the night at Clarke’s house he would wake up disoriented and wondering where he was, but now he usually knows when Clarke will wake up beside him. Which is why her not being there is a little weird considering she never wakes up before him.

Bellamy stretches and rolls out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants that Clarke took and never gave back. Despite still being extremely tired, and somewhat hungover, his mind processes that there’s food in the kitchen and that’s where his nose brings him.

Clarke is standing at the oven but she turns around when she hears him. He smiles. “Morning, Princess.”

“Good morning, handsome.” Clarke smiles at him.

“You think I’m handsome?” Bellamy keeps grinning as he walks up to her and wraps his hands around her waist.

“The handsomest,” Clarke giggles.

“You’re cute.” Bellamy leans down and gives her a kiss on the forehead. “Mmm…I smell coffee.” Bellamy shuffles towards the Keurig and grabs the mug as soon as it finishes pouring. _I really need some caffeine_.

“I made breakfast.” Clarke says as she pulls plates from the cabinet and when the words process, Bellamy looks at the food on the counter.

 _She made breakfast._ “You made all of this?” Bellamy knew that the two of them had been working on her cooking skills, but he didn’t think that she would make all of this.

“You seem surprised,” she teases, “you are the one who taught me how.”

“Princess, you spoil me,” he grins before walking over to the food. “Is it my birthday?”

“Nope,” Clarke smiles up at him and bats her eyelashes, causing him to narrow his eyes at her, but he’s smirking.

“Then what’s the occasion?”

Clarke shrugs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bellamy looks at Clarke, trying to figure out what exactly is going on, when his phone goes off from the charging station by the counter. Clarke moves towards it then hands it to him, but she smiles as she does so. Bellamy takes his phone and looks at it.

**Octavia**

_Happy Father’s Day big brother! I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without you <3_

Bellamy reads the text and smiles, then everything starts to click in his mind. _It’s Father’s Day_. Bellamy looks up from his phone at Clarke, then at the food.

“It’s Father’s Day.”

“Yes.”

“And you made me breakfast.”

“Yes I did.”

“For Father’s Day.”

“I did,” Clarke grins and bites down on her bottom lip.

“Why?” Bellamy’s heart is beating fast against his chest, threatening to burst out of it. He knows that he took her out for Mother’s Day but she _is_ a mother. He doesn’t have any kids of his own and he’s only known her and Madi for two months.

“Well, you’ve done so much for us, and Octavia was the one who pointed out that Madi doesn’t need to call you ‘dad’ in order for me to tell you thank you, so…this is me doing that.” A lump forms in Bellamy’s throat and he swallows to get rid of it. The past two months go through his mind and he can’t help but feel as if he’s the luckiest man in the world.

Bellamy gazes at her for a minute before he gives her a shy smile and brings his hands up to cup her face. “You are wonderful, you know that?”

“I think I could get used to you reminding me,” she purrs and Bellamy chuckles lightly before pressing his lips to hers. It’s so soft and sweet and he rubs his thumbs across her cheekbones, causing her to melt into him. When they break apart, Clarke is smiling as wide as Bellamy expects he is. “Octavia told me I can’t hog you all day though, so I need you to acknowledge your present.”

Bellamy’s eyebrows knit in confusion “What present?” Clarke motions towards the coffee cup and he looks at it. _BEST DAD EVER_. “You got me this?” Bellamy grins at her and she nods. “I love it!” He holds the mug up close to his face so he can see it better since he doesn’t have his glasses on or his contacts in. He sets the cup down and pulls Clarke in for another kiss. “Thank you, baby.”

“You’re welcome.” Clarke keeps smiling at him and his heart flips.

Madi wakes up and before long, they’re all sitting around the little table eating. Bellamy’s woken up a lot more since realizing that Clarke made him breakfast and go him a mug for Father’s Day, and he can’t quit smiling. Madi hasn’t told him happy Father’s Day herself, but he understands that she probably doesn’t know what day it is since she’s never had a father to celebrate with, but just having Clarke tell him is enough.

“Movie?” Madi finishes eating the blueberries that Clarke had placed on her plate and looks between her mom and Bellamy.

“Movie,” Clarke and Bellamy both agree then Madi takes both of their hands and drags them into the living room.

Clarke moves towards the couch but Madi drags Bellamy towards the movies so he can help her pick one out. Eventually, Bellamy helps Madi settle on _Finding Nemo_ since they haven’t watched it together yet, then he follows her towards the couch and she takes her usual place between him and Clarke.

Madi starts singing along with Dory when Dory starts singing about swimming and it makes Bellamy think about going outside after the movie and playing around in the sprinklers. Which Madi is all for. A plus side to playing in the sprinklers is also the fact that Bellamy gets to see Clarke in a swimsuit again and he’ll never turn that down.

For an hour, Bellamy chases his girls around the backyard and they both laugh and giggle when he catches them. He never gave much thought to how Father’s Day would be when he had his own kids, but this is far better than anything he could have ever imagined. Madi may not be his child genetics wise but, after only two months, he’s starting to consider her as his own.

“Bellamy, your phone is ringing!” Clarke calls from the little picnic table where she’s drying her hair. “It’s Octavia.”

“Uh oh.” Bellamy brings Madi down to rest on his hip as he walks towards the table, picking up his phone. “Hey, O.”

“Bell, I’m hungry.”

“Didn’t you just eat breakfast?”

“I’m always hungry.” The sound of a cookie container opening comes from her side of the phone and he laughs.

“Alright, alright, don’t spoil your lunch. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“’Kay. Bye big brother.”

“Bye, O.”

Bellamy hangs up the phone and looks at Clarke who’s already smiling at him. “Have we hogged you for too long?”

“Nah, Octavia’s just impatient.” Bellamy turns to Madi who is poking at the freckles on his shoulder and counting under her breath. “So I have to head out but I’ll be back soon.”

“Leaving?” Madi’s brown eyes and freckled face turns towards his and she’s giving him big puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah, leaving, but not for long. I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Bellamy gives Madi a kiss on her forehead then hands her off to Clarke, giving her a kiss too. “O usually spends the morning with me then the night with Lincoln so I shouldn’t be gone for too long.”

“Take your time.” Clarke leans up and gives him another kiss. “I think we’ll just keep playing out here.” Clarke turns to Madi. “Want to stay outside?” Madi smiles and nods her head. “Okay then.” Clarkes turns back to Bellamy. “Be safe.”

“You know I will.” Bellamy gives her one last kiss before heading inside.

Bellamy shows up at Octavia’s house fifteen minutes later and she bounds out of the house just as Bellamy gets out of his truck and wraps him up in a bear hug.

“Happy Father’s Day, old man.” Octavia teases.

“I’m only old because you were a terrible teenager.”

“I was not!” Octavia slaps him with a hard object wrapped in Scooby-Doo wrapping paper. “Now open this before I keep it.”

Bellamy chuckles as he takes the present from Octavia. It has a little card on it that says _“You named me after a Roman, so I feel like this is fitting. Thank you for teaching me to love mythology as much as you do.”_

“Octavia, I love it.” Bellamy smiles and wraps his little sister in a hug, kissing the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Octavia grins, “now, let’s eat.”

Bellamy drives the two of them to the Eligius since he told Octavia how good their food was and she said that she still hadn’t tried it. They’ve just been seated and are going over the menu when Bellamy notices Octavia looking at him from above her menu.

“What?”

“Did you like your mug?” Octavia smirks and Bellamy’s mind stops working for a second.

“You knew about that?”

“Well of course, I was the one who snuck it out of the aquarium so you wouldn’t notice it.”

“She bought it at the aquarium?” _She bought it a week ago?_

“Did you not notice the two dolphins on it, Bell?” Octavia quirks an eyebrow at him. “She really likes you.” Octavia smiles and leans onto the table. “And you haven’t quit smiling since you showed up at my house.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bellamy forces his face into a neutral expression and goes back to looking at his menu.

“You’re such a dork.” Octavia throws an empty straw wrapper at him. “You know what I’m talking about, big brother, and don’t try to deny it.”

“Deny what, O?” Bellamy sighs and looks back at his little sister. She’s grinning from ear to ear and the way her green eyes are trained on him makes him feel as if she’s staring into his soul.

“You love her.” The way Octavia says it, just so matter-of-factly, makes Bellamy stop moving. He thought that maybe he had done a good job at hiding the magnitude of his feelings for the most part, but Octavia knows him better than anyone.

“Yes, I do.”

“And have you told her?”

“It’s only been two months.” Bellamy sets his menu down and leans on the table, mimicking Octavia.

“Lincoln told me on our two month anniversary, Bell.” Octavia reaches across the table and places her hand on Bellamy’s forearm. “You fell for this woman the day you met her and you knew this was inevitable. You should tell her.”

“But what if I freak her out and she pulls away?”

“Something tells me that she wouldn’t do that.” There’s a look in Octavia’s eyes that makes Bellamy want to believe her, it’s a look he’s seen a lot over the years and it’s never been wrong. “But you should tell her when you’re ready to tell her. Don’t worry about whether or not she feel the same way, because I think we both know what the answer is.”

 _Do we?_ Bellamy wants to believe that he knows what Clarke will tell him, but he doesn’t want to assume anything. Clarke will tell him when she’s ready and if what she tells him isn’t what he wants to hear then he’ll have to deal with that but, for now, he’s okay with knowing his feelings and spending as much time with Clarke as he can.

Bellamy’s phone goes off with a text from both Jasper and Monty.

_Attachment: 1 Image  
Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!!_

The picture is of the two of them when they were still in high school and Bellamy had to bring both of them school shirts because they decided that their junior year was going to be the year that they only wore t-shirts. Jasper had taken a picture when Bellamy was in the middle of telling them that they were lucky he was home with his hands on his hips and everything. _Dad, indeed_.

Bellamy laughs and shows Octavia who cracks up too. Bellamy did a lot of ‘bailing out’ when Octavia, Jasper, and Monty were younger, and eventually the boys started calling him dad jokingly but they never stopped. The waitress comes back to take their orders and when she’s gone, Bellamy asks Octavia what she has planned with Lincoln and even though he offers to watch August, she tells him that Murphy and Emori already offered to watch him. They talk about the summer and what else they all want to do, and Octavia says that she’s going to start getting things ready for the fourth of July even though it’s still a few weeks away.

Bellamy really enjoys just being able to have some time with Octavia without everyone else, even though that may sound bad to some of them. Growing up, they were pretty much all each other had since their mom always worked more to try and keep the house running and put food on the table, but even then it was never quite enough. Despite Octavia being a hellraiser when she was teenager, he did his best to guide her and even though sometimes he didn’t know when to take a step back, now that they’re older their bond has strengthened.

“You look like you’re getting sentimental.” Octavia teases as they walk out of the restaurant.

“Nah, I’m just having a good day.” Bellamy smiles at his little sister.

“Well do you know what would make it even better? Ice cream!”

“O, we literally just ate.”

“And? It’s ice cream. You always have room for ice cream.” Octavia grins as she slings herself into his truck and he shakes his head as he follows after her.

When he gets in the truck, Bellamy sends a quick text to Clarke before they head out telling her that they were also going to get ice cream but he promised to bring some back for her and Madi. By the time Bellamy pulls up to Coldstone, Octavia is practically vibrating in her seat and before he can even put the car in park she’s hopping out and skipping towards the door.

“Jesus, someone would think you’ve never had ice cream in your life.” Bellamy laughs as Octavia waits by the door.

“I haven’t had _this_ ice cream in _months_ , Bell. I’ve missed it.”

“Alright, fair enough.”

Octavia swings open the door and slides inside with Bellamy walking in after her. She orders chocolate on top of chocolate and Bellamy does the same, and they each get their own shareable container of ice cream to bring back home.

“Linc said he’ll come pick me up from here so your ice cream doesn’t melt.” Octavia says with a big spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “He’ll be here in ten.”

“Good thing the two of you aren’t going out to eat, you wouldn’t have any room left.” Bellamy finishes off his ice cream then throws the container away. _If anything, she’ll burn off the food_.

“Don’t worry, we’re going out to eat after,” she smiles, “paintball can really take it out of you.”

The two of them talk until Lincoln arrives and then they say their goodbyes. Octavia gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, telling him happy father’s day again, and then Bellamy waves at Lincoln from the truck. Bellamy’s happy that he got to spend time with Octavia, but what makes him even happier is the fact that he’s going back to Clarke’s and knowing that the girls are waiting for him.

He gets to Clarke’s within ten minutes and when he knocks on the door, he can hear both Madi and Clarke’s feet running towards him.

“Delivery.” He grins when the door opens and steps into the house.

“Thank you very much,” Clarke takes the ice cream from him so he can pick up Madi. “New book?”

Bellamy holds up a black book with gold decorations all over it. “Yeah, it’s what Octavia gave me, says it has Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology tales in it.” Bellamy can’t help the huge smile on his face. _I really can’t wait to read it_.

“Well, maybe you’ll have to read to us tonight.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I love listening to stories.” Clarke smiles and his grin widens.

“I love telling them.”

Bellamy’s heart does a somersault as he follows Clarke further into the house. _She encourages my mythology obsession_. He smiles at the thought and lets Madi drag him towards the couch.

“Story, please.” Madi beams up at him and he chuckles.

“Okay, little one.” Bellamy settles on to the couch and Madi climbs up next to him, resting her head on his arm as he looks for a story. After Clarke puts the ice cream into the freezer, she joins the two of them on the couch and ends up resting her head on Bellamy’s shoulder too. _This is what it’s supposed to be like, isn’t it?_

They all sit on the couch while Bellamy tells them a couple of stories but before he can start the third one, Madi gasps then slides off the couch and heads towards the backdoor. Clarke gets up too and closes the door behind Madi when she comes back inside.

Bellamy can tell that Madi seems shy, and she obviously has a piece of paper behind her back, so Bellamy kneels on the floor and smiles at her. This seems to push aside any of her worries because she grins at him and holds up a hand-painted picture.

“Us.”

Bellamy looks down at the picture and the lump that had appeared in his throat earlier comes back. There’s three people on the paper, him, Clarke, and Madi, and they’re all holding hands. Madi keeps smiling at him as he looks at it and he turns back to look at her. He smiles.

“Thank you, Madi, I love it.” He holds his arm out and Madi walks into it, giving him a hug.

“You do?” Madi asks, her eyes wide.

“Of course I do.” He tugs lightly on a strand of her hair and she giggles. As he stands, he places a kiss on top of her head then smiles at Clarke. “This is going on my fridge.”

And it really is. This is different from the things that Madi had drawn and given to him previously. This actually has him in it. _And she doesn’t even know it’s Father’s Day._ Clarke walks over and gives him a kiss, which he tries to pour all of his thanks and love into. She smiles against his lips and when they pull back, he can see himself grinning in her eyes.

“Having a good day?”

“The best.” Bellamy threads his fingers into her hair and kisses her again.

For the rest of the day, they alternate between more story-telling and playing whatever game it is that Madi wanted to play. As it gets closer to dinner, Bellamy goes to get up to cook but Clarke tells him to sit, that today is his day and she’s going to do her best to cook something for him. He smiled and said that he would be there if she needs help.

While Clarke is cooking, Bellamy continues telling Madi stories and takes to acting some of them out like he had the first night. There’s something about making Madi laugh, which in turn makes Clarke smile, that Bellamy loves. Growing up, he was devoted to his family and even though he had relationships they were never the kind he saw himself staying in for the rest of his life, not even with Gina, but now he’s found someone that he never wants to let go.

“Foods ready!” Clarke calls from the kitchen and Bellamy and Madi both grin.

“Let’s have a piggyback ride to mommy.” Bellamy says and Madi climbs on his back as he starts towards the kitchen. When he starts making airplane noises, Madi laughs. Clarke is standing by the stove with the biggest smile on her face and it makes Bellamy fall a little more in love with her.

They all sit around and eat dinner together, like they’ve done countless of nights before, and Bellamy talks about what he and Octavia did that day while Clarke talks about what she and Madi did while he was gone. It feels like a real family dinner and Bellamy can’t help but want this every day for the rest of his life. He loves it. When Clarke leaves with Madi to get her cleaned up before bed, Bellamy does the dishes then they both put Madi to bed together with Bellamy telling her another story.

When they slip out of Madi’s room, Clarke grabs Bellamy’s hand and directs him towards her room, shutting the door firmly behind them.

“What’re you doing, Clarke?” The lamp beside Clarke’s bed is on and he can see her eyes darken.

“Giving you you’re other present.” She smiles before walking towards him and placing her hands on his chest, pushing him back towards the bed.

“I get two presents?” He grins.

“Uh-huh.” Clarke pushes him back onto the bed and he lays down, grinning at her.

“Care to tell me what it is?”

“Baby, if I tell you then it ruins the surprise,” Clarke teases as she climbs on top of him.

“Oh, then we can’t have that now, can we?” He brings his hands up to rest on her thighs, just below her shorts.

“Mmm…no we can’t.” She smirks before leaning down and kissing him.

_Best Father’s Day, hands down._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy is so far gone he can't handle all of the love he feels for Clarke and Madi. I love it.  
> Only 5 more chapters left but I'm already coming up with ideas for part 3 ;)
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Fourth of July and Bellamy is just really fucking happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I got this up in a week :) Only four more chapters left of this part but I'm already forming what part 3 is going to be about ;)

After Father’s Day, Bellamy felt as if he was on a high he would never come down from. Despite him not wanting to tell Clarke how he felt about her, he was beginning to believe that there was a possibility that she felt the same way. He took her and Madi out to the park more and the three of them were always at one of their friend’s houses. It was a wonderful time, and he was happy.

“Your whistling again.” Miller grumbles as she shuffles towards the fridge. “But I forgot you lived here.”

“It is my house.” Bellamy pops a dry piece of cereal into his mouth. “I haven’t been away for that long.”

“Dude, you were at her house for three days straight and before that you were waking up before I do and going over there which is weird because I wake up with the sun.”

Well, Bellamy can’t exactly argue with that, can he? He has been staying at Clarke’s more, but everything is still sort of new and even though Bellamy has a change of clothes at Clarke’s house, she doesn’t have anything at his. But, then again, the reason why they’ve been at Clarke’s house is because that’s where all of Madi’s things are.

Bellamy shrugs. “It’s summer, we’re just having fun.”

“Uh huh.” Miller takes the cereal from beside Bellamy and starts pouring himself a bowl. “Have you told her you love her yet?”

Bellamy faulters and the piece of cereal he had been intending to catch with his mouth hits him in the forehead. “What?”

“Clarke, have you told her you love her yet?” Miller restates his question and opens the fridge for some milk. “And don’t bother denying it because it’s not like you’re doing a very good job of hiding it.”

“That obvious?”

“Dude, there’s a fucking neon sign above your head that reads “IM IN LOVE WITH THIS WOMAN” in capital letters.” Miller laughs. “Honestly, it’s a wonder she hasn’t realized it yet.”

“She has Madi to worry about.” And Bellamy knew this. He knew that it might take Clarke a while to even broach the topic of feelings and where she would want things to go, but he could wait.

“And you’re okay with hiding your feelings?”

“Yeah, I am.” Bellamy knew this was a possibility when he went into this relationship and he doesn’t expect it to happen anytime soon.

“Well, as long as you’re okay with it.” Miller nods his head then picks up his bowl of cereal. “I like her.”

Bellamy smiles. “Me too.”

\---

Three days later it’s the Fourth of July and Bellamy is running an errand for everyone back at Monty and Harper’s. They ran out of beer because they didn’t stock up well enough so now Bellamy is in the store grabbing a few cases when he sees a flash of blonde out of the corner of his eye. He’s spent enough time around Clarke during the last three months to recognize when it’s her and he can’t help the smile that tugs at the corners of his lips as he changes course and heads for her and Madi.

Clarke is busy inspecting two bags of hot dog buns but Madi notices him and instantly yells, “Daddy!” Bellamy’s heart stops beating and he watches as Clarke drops the two bags she had been holding. Madi on the other hand is beaming at him.

Clarke bends down to pick up the buns then turns to look at him. “Oh my god.” Clarke’s voice is barely above a whisper and she looks between him and her daughter. Bellamy can’t do anything but stare. “Madi, what did you say?”

“Daddy.” Madi smiles at Clarke then turns her smile back to Bellamy.

“ _Madi—_ ” Clarke seems to be even more shocked than Bellamy and that breaks Bellamy out of his frozen state.

“It’s, um, it’s fine,” Bellamy clears his throat then steps closer towards them. When he gets closer, Bellamy can tell that Clarke is shaking and he reaches over, taking the two bags of hotdog buns out of her hands and placing them on the shelf, then he clasps his hands around hers to try and ground her. “The guys needed a drink run so I volunteered.”

“Oh.” Clarke nods her head then glances at Madi before turning back to him, “will you excuse us for a second?” His heart sinks.

“Yeah, sure.” Bellamy turns and goes back the way he came.

Bellamy had wondered if Madi would start calling him dad at some point, but he didn’t think that much had changed between now and him having seen her yesterday. He’s been thinking of Madi as his daughter for a couple of weeks now, ever since Father’s Day, so hearing her actually call him dad sends a wave of emotions through him but remembering the look in Clarke’s face, how scared she was, sends a wave of entirely different emotions.

When he reaches the end of the aisle he takes a right and starts walking up the next one. Despite his better judgement, the need to know what Clarke is saying keeps him moving until he’s at the other end and close to where Clarke and Madi are. He can’t see either of them, but he can tell that Clarke is crying.

“Why are you sad, mama?”

“I’m not sad, baby. You just—someone has to choose for themselves if they want to be your dad.”

“He can,” Madi says simply.

“Madi, I don’t know if—”

“I do.” Bellamy rounds the corner and Clarke’s eyes widen when he comes into view. He looks at Clarke and notices how she’s shaking, but he doesn’t break his eye contact with her. This is important and not something to be taken lightly, and he wants her to know that he understands that. “You’re right, someone has to choose something like this, and I do.”

“So you’ll be my dad?” Madi smiles up at him, her big, blue eyes wide.

“Of course, Madi, I’d love to be.” Bellamy’s heart melts as Madi reaches up for him and he pulls her up out of her seat. Madi immediately wraps her arms around his neck and giggles. The sound of her so happy, and the reason being because he said he would be her dad, is enough to make Bellamy tear up. He hugs her and gives her a kiss on the side of the head, but when he looks at Clarke his heart threatens to stop beating again.

She’s still shaking and her eyes are shining with unshed tears as she looks at the two of them. He had thought that she would be happy when the time came, with being shown that he wasn’t going to go anywhere, but she looks so scared.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Bellamy walks over to her and cups the side of her face.

“It’s nothing, um—” Clarke’s bottom lip quivers and it sends a shot of pain through his chest. “I just—I don’t—”

“Breathe.” Bellamy rubs his finger across her cheekbone and she takes a deep breath. “Can we talk when we get to Harper and Monty’s?” Clarke nods her head.

Bellamy grabbed some hotdog buns and then told Clarke that he would meet her at the check out line. When they met back up, Raven showed up not too long after and offered to drive Clarke’s car to the party so she and Bellamy could have some time together. Madi seemed oblivious to how distraught her mother was because she just chatted away happily as they went through check out.

Neither of them say anything as they make their way towards Bellamy’s truck and there’s still nothing but silence until Bellamy comes to a stop at a red light and turns in his seat to look at Clarke. Her not having said anything is making him begin to worry about what’s going on in her head.

“Are you okay?” It’s a stupid question, he knows that, but he’s never been very eloquent.

“I’m fine.” Clarke clears her throat and knots her hands in her lap.

“No, you’re not.” Bellamy turns back in his seat as the light turns green. “Talk to me, Clarke, please.”

“I don’t know, I just—” She takes a deep breath. “A few days ago, Madi asked me why she didn’t have a dad, and I told her that he wasn’t ready. Then she asked if he was coming back and I had to tell her no.” She pauses for a beat, but when she starts talking again Bellamy can tell she’s starting to tear up again. “I told her—” Clarke sniffles, “I told her that she would always have me, and Raven, and she asked if she would have you and I—”

“You didn’t want to give her false hope.” And he understands that.

“Yeah.” He can see Clarke reach up to wipe the tears away. “I’m not naïve, I know that this isn’t some fairytale where we know each other for like two weeks then live happily ever after.” Clarke looks down at her knotted fingers. “I thought I would’ve had more time before she asked me something like that. I figured I would have a better chance at explaining things when she was older, but now…” Clarke trails off.

“You’re worried that I’m going to leave and then she’s going to be heartbroken.”

“I would be too,” Clarke mumbles and something stirs in Bellamy. He takes the next right and pulls into an empty gas station. When he puts the truck in park, he turns to look at her. “Bellamy?”

“I’ve thought about this a lot.” He rubs the back of his neck, a habit he’s always had when he was nervous. Given the situation, he doesn’t know if telling Clarke he loves her is the best choice, but he can certainly tell her everything else that he’s been holding in. _I have to_. “I knew what I was getting into when I asked you out the day we met, Clarke. All I intended to do was give you and your daughter a ride home from the airport that day, I wasn’t expecting anything to come out of it, but then Raven asked me to stay and, I found that I liked being around you.

“You’re beautiful and you’re smart, and you’re funny, and I adored Madi instantly. I knew that by asking you out the next day it would probably lead to something that I couldn’t turn back from, and I was okay with that. Call it temporary insanity on my part, meeting this wonderful woman and her equally wonderful kid and deciding ‘I could do this’ after only knowing you for twenty-four hours, but I knew that this day would probably come at some point.”

“Albeit I thought we would’ve had a little more time, too, but even if things don’t work out between us then I’d still like to be there for Madi. I know what it’s like to have to grow up without a dad, Clarke, and I know you’ve experienced what that’s like, and I—god, Madi isn’t my kid but I already love her like she is. I know this is scary for you, it’s scaring me too, Clarke, but I knew what I was getting into when I first met you, and I know you must’ve thought about it, too.”

And there it is. All of the stuff he’s thought, all of the stuff he’s talked to Octavia about, everything is out in the open. Almost. He’s admitted he loves Madi like his own daughter, and he really does, but without saying how he loves Clarke too. She doesn’t say anything at first, just blinks a few times, but after what feels like an eternity, she speaks.

“When I first got pregnant and Finn left, I was told over and over again that I’d probably never meet anyone as a single mom. Those people were hateful, but that little voice still stuck in the back of mind and always came up when I tried entertaining the idea of being with someone. The night you gave me your number I told Raven that I wouldn’t text you because there was a pretty good chance that you wouldn’t stick around.”

“You did?” _Really? Did she not want anything to do with me?_

“Yeah, but, don’t get me wrong, I liked you. I _wanted_ to see where it would go but I couldn’t get over the doubt that kept creeping into my mind.”

“What made you decide to text me?”

“Raven.” The corners of Clarke’s mouth turn upwards and its almost like Bellamy can imagine that conversation. “I told her I wasn’t looking for anything and she pointed out that I wasn’t looking, you just happened to show up, and she told me you were a good man and that she believed we would make a good couple.”

“Raven Reyes said that we would make a good couple?” Bellamy quirks an eyebrow and smirks and Clarke looks up at him, nodding her head. “Well in that case who are we to tell her she’s wrong?”

Much to Bellamy’s relief, Clarke laughs. “Yeah, she’s pretty much always right.”

“Pretty much?”

“Except when I’m right.” Clarke smirks and Bellamy grins at her. He reaches across the console and takes her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. _God, I never want to let her go_.

“I know this is crazy, and we’re just figuring things out as they go, but I don’t want to lose you, Clarke.” He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses her knuckles. “We’ll figure it out, together.”

“Together.” Clarke smiles before leaning over the console and giving him a kiss.

“We are crazy, aren’t we? Like we’re supposed to be the adults.” Bellamy laughs and Clarke smiles.

“Oh, we’re definitely crazy,” Clarke leans in and rests her head on Bellamy’s shoulder. “But at least our lives aren’t boring.” Bellamy chuckles and Clarke turns her head to look at him. His eyes drift to her lips and she smiles, closing the distance between them.

“We should probably get to the party,” he murmurs when they break apart. Clarke nods her head then gives him one last kiss before righting herself in her seat, smiling as he backs the truck up.

When they get to Monty and Harper’s house, everyone is already in the backyard and they all cheer when the two of them are noticed.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say the two of you snuck off for some alone time.” Raven wiggles her eyebrows and Clarke blushes.

“I wish.”

Bellamy smirks and Clarke turns to look at him. “Well, if I had known that that’s what you wanted then I wouldn’t have suggested we come back.”

“Oh, come one, Bellamy, you can get it in some other time.” Murphy hands a beer to the two of them.

“Fuck off, Murphy,” Bellamy groans but Murphy only grins.

“Wow, I try to be nice and this is how I’m repaid,” Murphy looks at Clarke, placing a hand over his heart, “do you see how he treats me?”

“Come on, John, leave them alone.” Emori pops up behind her boyfriend and steers him pack towards the barbeque pit. “Glad you two finally decided to show up.” Emori smiles before turning her attention back to her boyfriend as they head to where Monty and Jasper are trying to balance cups on their heads.

“Where’s Madi?” Clarke turns to Raven who nods towards the house.

“She was tired so Harper let me put her to sleep in the spare room.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“What are aunts for?” Raven smirks before throwing her arm around Clarke’s shoulders and guiding her towards the ice chest. “Now, _sisters_ are for drinking with.”

“ _Raven._ ”

“You too, mythology geek.” Raven turns to Bellamy and he chuckles as he follows the two of them.

Bellamy stays by Clarke’s side and when she finishes her beer, he hands her his. He, Lincoln, and Zeke all agreed to be designated drivers and even though Bellamy knows that one beer wouldn’t be a big deal, he’s not going to drink then drive anyone anywhere. _Despite Murphy’s attempts_. This get together goes like all of their other get togethers, with the girls spending time in the pool and the guys joining them when they’re not watching the barbeque pit.

“Someone’s awake!” Maya’s voice carries from the house and Bellamy and Clarke look over to see her walking out of the backdoor with Madi holding her hand. Clare was latched onto Bellamy’s back in the pool while he swam around lazily, so Bellamy walks over to the side of the pool and leans against it as Clarke hops off him.

“Hey, sleepy head.”

“Hey, honey.”

“Mama! Daddy!” Madi smiles then waddles over to the pool, oblivious to the looks that her mom and her new dad are getting.

Bellamy can hear Raven ask Clarke if she just heard what she think she just heard, but Madi drags his attention back to her. “Up!” She holds her hands up, waiting for Bellamy to pick her up.

“Hold on, little one, you need to get your swimsuit on.” Clarke says as she moves towards the ladder and hoists herself out of the water. _Damn._ “Come on, Madi.” Unfortunately for Bellamy, Clarke wraps a towel around her  and picks Madi up who laughs. Honestly, Bellamy would watch Clarke all day every day even if she wasn’t wearing a swimsuit. That’s just a bonus.

Clarke and Madi disappear inside of the house and Bellamy watches them go. It’s only when the door closes behind them that he’s aware of everyone staring at him. He shrugs and everyone is still silent for a beat before they go back to whatever they had been doing before Madi came outside. Bellamy thinks he’s escaped any questions being asked but when Octavia heads towards the backdoor, he realizes he couldn’t be that lucky.

“Hey, Bell, can you come help me?” Octavia’s voice is sweet but he can see the look in her eyes that tells him if he even dares to tell her no then she will drag him out of the pool herself.

“Sure, O.” He hoists himself out of the pool and grabs a towel, quickly drying himself off before he reaches the door to the house. Bellamy follows Octavia into the kitchen and even though he tries to look for any sign of Clarke or Madi, he can’t see them.

“Bellamy, what the fuck was that?” Octavia’s voice is hushed and her eyes are wide. “Daddy? Did you finally tell Clarke that you—”

“No, O.” Bellamy tries to keep his voice low too. “I ran into them in the store and Madi saw me and screamed it. It’s the first time it happened.”

Octavia’s eyes widened even more. “How did Clarke respond that?”

“She looked so scared.” Pain goes through Bellamy’s chest at the memory of Clarke’s face. “She was shaking too. I thought she would’ve been happy but she looked terrified.”

“The two of you seemed fine to me when y’all showed up.” Octavia crosses her arms against her chest and Bellamy nods.

“Yeah, we’re okay. I told her everything.” He chuckles a little. “About how I knew what I was getting into and how even if things don’t work out between us then I’d still want to be there for Madi. I think she was just scared that I would leave if I decided I had had enough but I told her that that would never happen.”

“So basically you told her everything _but_ the fact that you’re in love with her? Really, Bell?”

Bellamy opens his mouth to respond but something in him tells him to turn around and when he does, he’s faced with two pairs of big blue eyes and two girls that look like they feel as if they’ve been caught eavesdropping. He smiles.

“There’s my girls.”

“Daddy!” Madi grins then leans towards Bellamy, wanting him to hold her.

“Hey, baby girl.” Bellamy kisses the top of Madi’s head. “Hello, Princess.”

“Hey,” Clarke smiles and Bellamy kisses her on the cheek. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt.” Clarke looks over at Octavia who smiles.

“No need to apologize, it was nothing.” Octavia walks over and links her arm with Clarke’s. “But come on, I’m ready for ice cream.”

“Ice cream!” Madi exclaims and nods her head.

They spend a few more hours at Monty and Harper’s until they all load up and head to the levee for the fireworks show. No one brings up the new ‘dad’ title that’s been placed on Bellamy and he assumes that everyone just figured it would happen at some point.

Madi seems to love saying the word, because she uses it every chance she gets, _“Daddy, up!”, “Daddy, look!”, “Daddy, here!”,_ and Bellamy absolutely loves it. He can’t help the way his heart melts whenever he hears Madi say it and the look Clarke has whenever she hears it, like she’s going to start tearing up, makes him fall in love with her even more.

Now, Bellamy and Clarke are sitting on a blanket on top of the levee while they watch Madi chase lightening bugs a few feet away from them. Bellamy had made sure to pack a little picnic basket to nibble on for when they get hungry since their diet of hotdogs earlier wasn’t very filling. Clarke bites down on a strawberry then lays her head in his lap, and his hands immediately go into blonde hair, combing his fingers through it. All around them, they can hear other kids laughing and adults chatting, and the sound of a band at the stage in the park behind them.

Bellamy wonders if his mother had experienced this at any point, just the feeling of being totally and completely at peace with someone you love. _God, I hope so_. Madi laughs off in the distance and it makes Bellamy smile. Having her and Clarke with him, as well as the rest of his friends, and getting to watch fireworks, _and_ Madi calling him dad? He’s pretty sure this is the best fourth of July he’s ever had. _Clarke and Madi seem to be making that happen a lot_.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Bellamy murmurs, taking his eyes off Madi to look down at Clarke.

“I was just thinking about how calm I feel.”

“Calm how?”

“I don’t know, I just,” Clarke shrugs, “I feel like for the first time in my life I’m not worrying about anything or stressing over something. It’s weird.”

“But a good weird?” Bellamy’s eyes search hers, looking for any sign that she might still be worried or something after everything that happened earlier. She smiles.

“The best weird.” She brings her hand up and wraps it around the back of Bellamy’s neck and meets him halfway for a kiss.

“Good.” Bellamy smirks just as the announcer for the fireworks comes on.

“Everybody, take your seats, and let the show begin!”

“Mama! Daddy!” Madi runs towards them, a couple of lightening bugs in her hair.

“Hey, sweetie.” Clarke holds her arms open and Madi barrels into her and Bellamy. “Did you make some friends?” Clarke motions to the bugs in Madi’s hair and Madi nods.

“I knew there was a reason I called you _natblida_.” Clarke smiles and starts tickling Madi, making her giggle.

“What does it mean?” Bellamy asks. “I’ve heard you call her that before.”

“Nightblood,” Clarke smiles. “It’s Trig, from their old stories, but when Madi was a baby she could never sleep through the night, no matter what I would always hear her through the baby monitor.” Clarke blushes. “It’s kind of silly, but, I don’t know, it kind of stuck with me.”

“I like it.” Bellamy reaches beside him and plucks two little yellow flowers from the ground then puts them into Clarke and Madi’s hair. It makes Clarke’s already blonde hair look even brighter and the flower in Madi’s hair looks like it’s glowing.

“Look!” Jasper yells off from the side of their blanket and Clarke, Bellamy, and Madi all turn their attention towards the sky. The firework bursts into a shower of sparks and crackles, falling back down to the water.

“Wow.” Madi grins up at the sky and Clarke leans her head on Bellamy’s shoulder.

The three of them watch as color after color, spark after spark, light up the night sky around them. At one point, Bellamy pulls Clarke into his lap and Clarke pulls Madi into hers, all of them watching together. Bellamy wraps his arms around his girls and lets out a content sigh. He kisses the top of Clarke’s head. Everything he hasn’t said yet is on the tip of his tongue, he could just tell her right now and it would be out in the open, but he knows that she might not be ready to hear it yet. He can wait, he can _definitely_ wait, because _god this is what it’s supposed to be like_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man's in love, what can ya say?
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x
> 
> P.S. I have two exams and a paper due next Wednesday and an exam this Thursday, so the next chapter might be up a little later than usual unless I get better at managing my time. BUT there will be a chapter up next week!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy gets to go to D.C. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I finished this chapter Monday when I was supposed to be studying lol but then I forgot to post it yesterday, though it's here now :)

In the weeks following the Fourth of July, Bellamy would tell anyone that he was blissfully happy. He can tell that his smile is a bit brighter and his laugh a bit louder because even when he’s not with Clarke or Madi, just knowing that he has the best girlfriend in the world and her equally amazing child calling him Dad, is enough to make him insanely happy no matter where he is or whoever he may be with.

This morning, Bellamy wakes up to the sound of the bedroom door creaking open and it’s only when he opens his eyes that he’s face with ocean blue ones, except these are accompanied by a field of freckles. Madi’s dark hair is sticking up in every direction and her blue eyes are bright as he looks at him.

“Daddy.” Madi leans onto the bed and looks at him. “Wake up.”

“I’m awake.” Bellamy tries to yawn softly then glances at the clock on the nightstand. _Well, it is 8:30AM_. He turns over slightly to look at Clarke, but she’s still fast asleep, huddled under most of the comforter. “Let’s make breakfast for mama,” he offers and Madi smiles and nods.

Bellamy yawns one more time before throwing his part of the covers back and standing up, stretching. Madi yawns too and stretches her arms out to the side, mimicking Bellamy, and it makes him smile. He picks up a shirt from on top of the dresser and pulls it on before turning and picking Madi up. He puts his finger up to his mouth, silently telling Madi that they need to be quiet, and she puts her finger up to her mouth as he slips the two of them out of the bedroom.

Once they’re in the kitchen, Bellamy keeps Madi propped up on his hip as he looks through the cabinets and fridge. He’s noticed Clarke and Madi’s penchant for pancakes, so he pulls out the box of batter and helps Madi grab a measuring cup from the cabinet. They’ve just mixed some of the batter when a thought pops into Bellamy’s mind.

“Want to hear some of daddy’s music?” Bellamy asks Madi and she nods. Usually Bellamy wouldn’t be one to listen to music after just waking up, but this morning he’s in the mood for _something_ to listen to.

He grabs his phone from the counter and goes through some of his music. _Have you ever seen the rain_ by Creedence Clearwater Revival catches his eye and he remembers cooking with his mother while she danced around to the radio. Before Octavia was born, his mother made it a point to always cook with him and when he got older and had to start cooking for Octavia himself, he would play music like his mother. All of the memories flood his mind and he presses on the song. The opening instrumentals begin to play through the phone speakers and a smile tugs at the corners of Bellamy’s mouth as he sets it on the counter.

“ _Someone told me long ago_  
_There’s a calm before the storm_  
 _I know it’s been comin’ for some time…”_

The music drifts in the air and Bellamy can see himself as a little kid cooking with his mom but, now, he’s the parent cooking with his daughter. Madi smiles from her spot on the counter and Bellamy makes sure that his arm is braced in front of her so she doesn’t fall. He leans over to turn up the music a little more and when he looks back, Madi seems to have dipped her hands into the flour and is holding a big pile of it. Before he can do anything, Madi grins then claps her hands together, causing a cloud of flour to appear in the air.

“Madi,” Bellamy starts, but he’s too busy trying not to laugh. “You’re not supposed to play in the flour.”

“Yes huh.” Madi grins and Bellamy can’t fight back his laugh anymore.

“Well, okay then.” Bellamy shakes his head then flips a pancake. The music continues to play and, even though he’s never been one to really sing, he let’s himself go a little.

“ _Through the circle, fast and slow,_  
_I know it can’t stop, I wonder_  
 _I want to know_  
 _Have you ever seen the rain?_  
 _I want to know_  
 _Have you ever seen the rain?_  
 _Comin’ down on a sunny day?_

Madi wiggles a little on the counter as her way of dancing and she giggles as Bellamy dances a little too.

_“Yeah,_  
_I want to know_  
 _Have you ever seen the rain?_  
 _I want to know_  
 _Have you ever seen the rain?_  
 _On a sunny day?”_

“Creedence Clearwater Revival, I approve.” Clarke’s voice comes from behind Bellamy. “I enjoyed the show.” She wraps her hands around his waist and his heart flips.

“I’m glad to hear that, Princess.” Bellamy turns and places a kiss to her forehead.

“You having fun, darling?” Clarke smiles at Madi who grins and nods. “From the amount of flour, I would guess so.” Clarke laughs and turns to Bellamy. “Are you having fun?”

Bellamy grins too. “Definitely.”

“Well, I have an idea that I think both of you would enjoy.” It’s Clarke’s turn to grin and she looks between Bellamy and her daughter.

“What is it, mama?” Madi’s eyes go wide, leaning forward slightly, but Bellamy’s arm is still in front of her so she won’t fall.

“Yeah, mama, what is it?” Bellamy asks and he can see something flash in Clarke’s eyes. He had started calling her mama around the time she began calling him daddy. There wasn’t anything remotely sexual in the way that either of them said that, most parents _did_ say stuff like that, but every time Bellamy says it he can see something shift in Clarke just like he feels something whenever she says it.

Clarke turns to Madi. Why don’t we go visit grandma and grandpa for a few days?” Then she turns to Bellamy. “We’ve already talked about you visiting D.C. with us, and I think it would be fun for us to go to the museums together.” Clarke bites her bottom lip and Bellamy has the urge to kiss her. He looks down at her and smiles.

“That sounds great!” He plucks Madi off the counter and wraps his free hand around Clarke, giving her a kiss. “When do we leave?”

“I was thinking today.”

“Today?”

“Yep, my mom and Kane let me use their flyer miles so all I’d really have to do is call them and they’d have tickets ready within a few hours.”

“I can buy my own ticket, Clarke.”

“But this doesn’t cost my mom or Kane anything,” Clarke looks at him. She knows that he has an issue with people buying things for him, but he knows that there’s no way he would able to fight her on this and actually win. There’s a tilt to her head and a look in her eyes saying _try me_. It’s adorable really.

Bellamy looks at her for a beat then slowly nods his head. “Okay, baby.” He leans down and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “In that case, we should get cleaned up.”

“Yes, you should.” Clarke chuckles then holds her hands out for Madi. “Come here my little flour child.” Bellamy chuckles and Madi giggles. “We have a lot to do before we can leave.”

When Clarke disappears with Madi, Bellamy decides to hold off on making breakfast but just as he’s about to eat what he’s already cooked, Raven appears out of nowhere and takes his plate from him.

“Hey, what that’s mine.”

“Stuff it, Blake, a girl’s hungry.” Raven grumbles as she takes the syrup out of the fridge and kicks the door shut with her foot.

“I don’t know if you’re considered a _girl_ , Reyes.” Bellamy teases and Raven cocks an eyebrow at him.

“Watch it. Even if I do enjoy having you around, I could make your life hell.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Bellamy settles on just getting a cup of coffee and then leans against the counter while Raven digs into what should’ve been his pancakes from the dining table. “I’m sure Clarke will tell you later, but she’s wanting to go to D.C. to visit her parents today.”

“She’s actually bringing you to D.C.?” Raven stops eating and looks at him. He doesn’t understand what she means, or why she’s acting like that, but she gives a low whistle and murmurs, “I thought so.”

“Thought so, what?”

“Nothing.” Raven shrugs then shoves a forkful of pancake into her mouth.

“Raven—”

“Girl code, Blake. My lips are sealed.”

“I thought we established that you weren’t a girl?” Bellamy pokes at her and the glare she gives him is near murderous.

“ _Sister_ code.” Raven looks at him. “It’s not my place to say anything.” Raven shrugs then goes back to her food.

“Well, okay then.” Even though what Raven said makes his mind go into overdrive with different meanings, he’s not left up to his thoughts long when Madi comes down the hall dressed for the day. “Hey, little one.”

“Hey, daddy.” Madi begins walking towards Bellamy and stretches her arms towards him. “Up, please.”

“Daddy’s dirty, baby, but Aunt Raven can pick you up.”

“Yeah, come here pipsqueak.” Raven smiles and opens her arms and Madi skips over to her. “Here, you can have my pancakes.”

“I helped.” Madi declares proudly and it makes Bellamy smile.

“Yes, you did.” Then he turns to Raven and points towards the hall. “I’m going to go clean up.”

“I bet you are.” Raven smirks and it makes Bellamy roll his eyes, but he can’t help the excitement he feels as he slips into Clarke’s bathroom.

Clarke looks up when he enters and smiles. “Because I was actually going to talk to you about us coming for a visit too.” Clarke pauses for a second then says, “Thank you, mom. Love you too. See ya.”

“What’d she say?” Bellamy asks as he takes off and throws his nearly white shirt onto the floor.

“She and Kane had already talked and they were going to invite us to come stay anyway.”

“Really?” _They were?_

“Yeah, she said that they want to get to know you better.” She wraps her hands around Bellamy’s neck. “How do you feel about that?”

“Honestly, I’m a little nervous,” Bellamy chuckles a little, “but, I think they like me.”

“Yeah, they do.” Clarke smirks before standing on her tip toes and giving Bellamy a kiss. “Where’s our daughter?”

“Raven woke up and is watching her now.” Bellamy grins down at her. “I think we both need to get clean.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” Clarke teases and she presses herself against Bellamy more.

“I do.”

“Well, can’t argue with that, can I?”

Bellamy smirks. “No, I don’t think you can.” Bellamy cups her face then presses his lips to hers.

An hour later, just as Bellamy is pulling on his t-shirt, Clarke gets the flight information from her mother and they both realize that they have about five hours until their flight is scheduled to leave. So, Bellamy decides to go back to his house to pack his bags while Clarke and Madi pack theirs, and ask Miller if he’ll be able to drive them to the airport.

On the drive home, he can hardly contain the excitement he feels about finally getting to see D.C., and the fact that Clarke had wanted to make sure he saw it makes it even better. When he walks into the house he’s whistling and Miller laughs from the living room.

“Does Clarke know that she has you whistling? Because I think she’d be flattered that you love to whistle off-key since she makes you so happy.”

“Nope, but she heard me singing CCR to Madi this morning.”

“And the child has you _singing_? When’s the wedding, I have to tell Murphy.”

“Ha-ha.” Bellamy shakes his head. “No wedding but we’re going to D.C. to stay with her parents for a couple of days and I was wondering if you’d be able to drive us to the airport.”

“You’re going to D.C. to stay with her parents? Does Octavia know about this?” Miller jumps up from the couch already reaching into his pocket for his phone.

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“Dude.”

“What? I just told this morning.”

“We’ll make sure to roll out the wedding runner for when the two of you step off the plane.”

Bellamy shakes his head then starts up the stairs. “I have to pack.”

“You do that, and I’ll tell everyone else.”

Despite himself, Bellamy laughs as he pulls his duffle bag out of the closet. _Of course Miller would have to make a big deal out of this_. But, if Bellamy’s being honest, he’s pretty nervous about actually staying with Abby and Kane for a couple of days. Last time, they had stayed at Clarke’s house and he saw them a couple of times before they left, but now they were actually inviting him to their house and paid for his plane ticket. Just as he’s packing up some of his bathroom stuff, his phone goes off with Octavia’s newly customized ringtone.

“What’s up, O?”

“You’re going to _Washington D.C._ and you didn’t think to _tell me_? And what’s this about you singing? And whistling?”

“Clarke brought up going to D.C. this morning so I hadn’t told anyone, and I’m whistling because I’m in a good mood.”

“What about the singing?”

“I was cooking breakfast with Madi.” Bellamy smiles at the memory from a few hours earlier.

“Let me guess, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”” Octavia asks and Bellamy can picture her smiling as she says it.

“Yeah.” Bellamy laughs lightly. “Now I really understand how mom felt.”

“Me too, though I don’t think August will be able to remember it just yet.”

“No, but he will soon.” The thought of their mother is enough to cause a lump to form in Bellamy’s throat. Ever since she died he’s tried not to think about her very much, but something about being around Clarke and Madi has him thinking about her even more.

“Well, uh—” Bellamy can hear Octavia sniffle on the other end of the line, “I’ll let you finish packing but I expect a lot of pictures and updates. Got it?”

“Of course, O. Love you.”

“Love you too, big brother. Fly safe.”

The call ends and Bellamy takes a second to collect himself before he finishes packing. When he’s done, he grabs a quick snack then he and Miller get into his truck and head towards Clarke’s. When they pick the girls up, Bellamy can tell that Clarke is thrumming with excitement and he is too. He can’t wait to experience the city with her. Miller drops them off at the airport and the three of them make their way through security and to their gate to wait for their plane.

Clarke pulls out some crayons and one of Madi’s sketchbooks which Bellamy hopes occupies Madi until their plane arrives. Bellamy’s knee is bouncing up and down wildly and he has to place his hand on it to keep it from moving.

“Is it weird that I’m nervous?” Bellamy leans over to whisper in her ear and Clarke smiles.

“I’d be worried if you weren’t.”

“Really?” Bellamy smirks.

“Well, yeah. This just goes to show that you actually care.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Bellamy takes a deep breath then wraps his arm around Clarke’s shoulders. “Do you think they’ll be freaked out that she’s already calling me dad?” Bellamy whispers and his eyes drift over to where Madi is drawing. Their friends hadn’t said anything, but he wasn’t sure how Clarke’s parents would respond.

“Um…They both like you and they’ve both said that you’re really good with her, so I’m sure they’ll just think it was going to happen at some point.” Clarke shrugs and Madi turns her attention towards her parents and holds up a picture she just colored in of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

“That looks great, Madi! Who is that?”

“You and daddy.” Madi smiles the turns the page and goes back to drawing.

“I think she’s taken the princess thing seriously.” Clarke chuckles and rests her head on Bellamy’s shoulder.

“It is a serious thing.” Bellamy deadpans and it makes Clarke laugh even more.

After a while, they settle into their seats on the plane and Madi passes out almost immediately. The flight isn’t long, but it gives Bellamy and Clarke some time to talk about what all he wants to do when he gets there and if there’s anything he should expect once they do.

“Well, my mom has a maid come in once a week to clean and her days used to be Wednesdays, but I don’t know if that’s changed. Our house has been in our family for a few generations so it isn’t as modern as some people’s in our neighborhoods, but it’s still pretty big. Jaha comes over any chance he gets, you know by now that he and Kane used to be in politics together until Kane decided to ‘retire’ and started working for the high school that Wells’ and I had graduated from. Um…I think that’s it, really. But you’ve already met Jaha so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Alright,” Bellamy nods and squeezes Clarke’s hand reassuringly. “I got this.”

Clarke smiles. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.”

“Am I? That’s a relief.” Bellamy lets out a breathy laugh and Clarke leans over to give him a kiss.

“Mama, I got to pee.” Madi’s sleepy voice comes from beside her and Clarke turns to her daughter.

“Okay, baby, come on. Let’s go use the bathroom.”

When they come back, Clarke sets Madi up with some headphones so she can watch the cartoon that’s being played on the screens and then she and Bellamy get back to talking. “So, what are your favorite places in D.C.?” Bellamy asks.

“There’s a lot that I like, but I think one of my favorite places is Rock Creek Park. It’s a wonderful place to draw and my father really loved spending time there.”

“It sounds nice.” Bellamy reaches across and grabs Clarke’s hand. “I can’t wait to have the Clarke Griffin tour.”

Clarke laughs. “And I can’t wait to have the Bellamy Blake explanation of the Smithsonian museum.”

“Me either,” Bellamy grins and it makes Clarke giggle.

The plane lands soon after and the three of them gather their luggage and head to the pick up zone. Madi starts rubbing her eyes while they’re waiting for Abby and Kane to show up so Bellamy picks her up and starts rocking with her. Madi wraps one arm around Bellamy’s neck and lays her head on his shoulder. He smiles and rests his head on top of hers.

“You have a beautiful family.” A lady’s voice comes from beside Bellamy and he turns to look at her.

“Thank you,” Clarke smiles. All of the love in her eyes when she turns to look at him is enough to make his heart melt.

“Thank you.” Bellamy can feel the heat rise to his face then the older lady, and who he assumes is her daughter, head towards a car that’s waiting for them.

“Clarke! Bellamy!” Abby opens the door to the vehicle before Kane even has a chance to put it in park then she barrels into her daughter.

“Mom, you keep acting like you haven’t seen me in years,” Clarke laughs.

“Maybe I’m just getting crazy in my old age,” Abby teases then turns to Bellamy. “I’m glad you came!” She gives him a hug too and rubs Madi’s back. “Hey, Madi.”

“Grandma.” Madi gives Abby a sleepy smile then reaches over for her.

“Well, let’s get the three of you home.”

_Home_. The way Abby says it makes Bellamy feel as though maybe they have already accepted him as part of their family, but he doesn’t let himself think about it too much.

On the car ride back, Madi tries to keep her eyes open in her car seat while Abby chatters away in the passenger seat. She talks about how she’s planning on cooking a dinner the next night, she’s talked to Jaha about coming for a visit with Wells, and she talks about how she’s taken tomorrow off work as well. All of it makes Bellamy wonder if it’s always like this whenever Clarke comes home. With Abby talking about everything, Bellamy is beginning to feel a little overwhelmed but Clarke’s hand finds its way into his and he smiles.

Once they get to the house, Marcus and Abby tell Clarke and Bellamy to go ahead and put Madi to bed while they get the luggage, despite Bellamy’s insistence that he can help, but he’d rather help tuck Madi into bed anyway. The size of the house isn’t as big as Bellamy had been expecting, but it’s certainly bigger than his. The inside is immaculate and all of the furniture and artwork seem as if they were chosen with the soul purpose of having it all match. Whereas in his house, there’s a lot of things that his mother had liked lining the walls along with dozens of family pictures.

Bellamy follows Clarke upstairs and into a room that has _Madi_ above the bed and a princess themed bed set on the bed. They both tuck Madi into bed and Clarke hands her a blanket that has her initials on it, then Madi is sleeping. They slip out of her room and make their way down to the kitchen where Abby is already pulling out left over spaghetti and heating it up in bowls when they both sit down at the island.

“I don’t know if the two of you have already eaten dinner, but I know _you_ get hungry after flying.” Abby gives Clarke a knowing look and Clarke’s stomach growls. “See?” Abby smiles and Clarke takes the bowl from her.

“Thank you, Abby.” Bellamy takes the hot food and gives her an appreciative smile.

“Of course.” Abby picks up her glass of wine. “I’m glad both of you are here, we’ve been wanting to spend more time together.”

“Us too, mom.”

“Yeah, thanks for inviting me.”

“Well you’re family now, Bellamy.” Kane smiles and Bellamy can feel his face heat up. _So maybe they do see me as family now_.

The four of them hangout in the kitchen while Clarke and Bellamy finish eating but since it’s getting late, and it’s kind of past Clarke and Bellamy’s bedtime, Abby and Kane tell them goodnight and Clarke directs Bellamy to her bedroom. Bellamy smiles at what he sees. There’s textbooks that are obviously from high school still sitting on her desk, there’s the usual English books that every kid read for school lining her bookshelves, and nearly every inch of one of her walls is covered in artwork while the wall above her bed is covered in photographs. _It’s all so Clarke_.

“I like your room.”

“Thanks. I haven’t changed anything since high school. If you can’t tell.”

“Oh, I think I got that.” He teases before leaning over her desk to get a better look at her drawings.

“Are you making fun of my room?” Clarke settles on her bed and quirks an eyebrow at him. “If you don’t like my room or Mr. Snuffles then I’m afraid we can’t have you here.”

“Mr. Snuffles?” The corner of Bellamy’s mouth turns up and he looks between her and the stuffed animal she’s placed in her lap.

“Yes, Mr. Snuffles.” Clarke looks down at the old teddy bear and smiles. “I named him when I was six, so no judging the name.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bellamy grins before crawling onto the bed next to her. “Hi, Mr. Snuffles.” Bellamy reaches out to shake the teddy bear’s hand and it sends Clarke into a fit of giggles. A loud _boom_ comes from outside and Clarke jumps. Surprisingly, they haven’t had any terrible thunderstorms back home this summer, but now he’s wondering if Clarke is scared of them.

“That sounds like it’s going to be bad.” Clarke mumbles then gets up, making her way to the windows. Bellamy can’t see anything until a flash of lightening cuts across the sky and Clarke runs back to her bed and slips under the covers. Her big blue eyes are wide as she looks at him. _She’s adorable_.

“You don’t like storms?” Bellamy settles under the covers with her and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

“I like rain, but it’s just really bad thunderstorms that I have a problem with.” Clarke reaches up and runs her fingers along his jawline. He hadn’t had time to shave this morning but at least it seems to be giving Clarke something to focus on.

“I can’t imagine how you’ll do during a hurricane.”

“I’ll be fine if I have you with me.” Clarke smiles then snuggles into him a little more. He chuckles before tightening his arm around her.

“You’ll always have me, Princess.” He kisses the top of her head and Clarke lets out a little sigh.

Bellamy drifts off to sleep, oblivious to the storm raging outside with Clarke wrapped up in his arms. He wakes up later on when the room is nearly covered in darkness, aside from a little bit of light coming in through the slightly open bedroom door. When he looks over, he’s met with two pairs of big, ocean blue eyes and they both look scared.

“Are both of my girls scared of the weather?” Clarke and Madi both nod their heads and it makes Bellamy’s heart stutter. He wraps an arm around both of them and pulls them close. “Don’t worry, daddy’s got you.” He kisses the top of Madi’s head and Clarke leans over so he can give her a kiss too. He can feel his body wanting to go back to sleep, and when he sees that Madi is already snoring slightly, he looks at Clarke who smiles.

He drifts off to sleep again but this time to the sound of his daughter’s slight snoring and Clarke’s hand holding onto his arm. _My family_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy's happiness makes me happy, but we only have 3 chapters left :( however, I am currently working on part 3 even though it's just an outline for now lol
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy's time in D.C. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This would’ve been up yesterday but I couldn’t finish the last little bit, but it’s up early today!
> 
> I’m sorry for any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes!

When Bellamy wakes up, he realizes that the storm that was raging the night before has disappeared and he rubs his hand over his face. He’s aware of Madi’s small frame still snuggled up next to him but when he blinks his eyes open and looks for Clarke, he can’t find her and pouts. A soft laugh comes from the foot of the bed and it makes him smile.

“Should I be worried that you’re watching me sleep, Princess?” He teases, whispering so he doesn’t wake Madi.

“Mmm…” Clarke smiles then huddles under the covers on her side of the bed again. “We both know you’ve watched me sleep before.”

“Have not.” Bellamy feigns outrage but he can feel heat rise to his cheeks.

“Whatever you say, babe.” Clarke leans over Madi and gives Bellamy a quick kiss. “Breakfast is ready.”

“I like breakfast.” Bellamy yawns and stretches.

“Hey, my little natblida.” Clarke wraps Madi in her arms and kisses her head. “It’s time to wake up.”

“Uh-uh.” Madi huddles under the covers more.

“Come on, Madi, grandma made breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” She opens her big blue eyes and looks up at Clarke and Bellamy. It makes Bellamy laugh.

“Yep, breakfast.” Clarke smiles.

“And we like breakfast, don’t we darlin’?” Bellamy smiles at Madi too.

“Yeah, breakfast.” Madi nods her head and Clarke laughs.

Bellamy carries Madi down the stairs as he follows Clarke into the kitchen. Kane and Abby are in the process of getting plates and cups out of the cabinets when the three of them enter, and Bellamy is taken back by what he sees. There’s pancakes, eggs, bacon, muffins, fruit, sausage… _she really went all out_. Madi goes to Clarke when they finally sit down with their plates though she eats food from both Clarke and Bellamy’s plates.

“I don’t know if the three of you heard that storm last night, but it was bad.” Kane says as he takes his seat across from Bellamy.

“It was pretty rough.” Abby agrees. “It kept waking me up.”

“I mostly slept through it,” Bellamy admits but he smiles at Clarke as he remembers the night before.

“Madi came and got into bed with us,” Clarke smiles back at Bellamy. “I think she got her fear of storms from me.”

“It’s a Griffin girl thing.” Abby winks at her daughter and it takes Bellamy a second to realize that she’s also referring to herself as a Griffin even though her name is Kane now. He chances a glance at Marcus but he doesn’t see anything on the older man’s face that would lead him to think that Marcus was upset about it. If anything, he seemed like he was smiling.

“You get pretty bad storms down in Arkadia, don’t you, Bellamy?” Kane asks and it brings Bellamy out of his thoughts.

“Yes, sir. Though we haven’t had a hurricane in a while.”

“I can only imagine how you two are going to react.” Abby motions between Clarke and Madi, teasing.

“Something tells me that we’ll be fine.” Clarke smiles at Bellamy and it’s brighter than the sun.

The conversation flows back to the storm and Kane mentions how the backyard got a little trashed so Bellamy offers to help him pick it up. He can’t quite place it, but there’s a look in Kane and Abby’s eyes that almost feel like their giving him their approval, though he doesn’t know why. When Bellamy turns to Clarke, her eyes are bright and she leans over to give him a kiss on the cheek. _All I did was offer to help clean up the yard_.

“So, what are the plans for while you’re here?” Abby asks as Bellamy gets to work on his third muffin. “Anything in particular?”

“First stop, of course, is the museum of natural history.” Clarke grins as she turns to look at Bellamy.

“Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it.” Bellamy doesn’t fight the big smile that spreads over his face.

“It’s a wonderful place,” Abby smiles too, “though Clarke was never interested in it when she went with her school.”

“The tour guides were boring, that’s not my fault.” Clarke shrugs then pops a blackberry in her mouth.

“Well, let’s hope I don’t bore you with my long-winded rants when we go.” Bellamy teases but Clarke only shakes her head.

“Never.”

They continue talking and slowly eating until all of their plates are empty and Madi’s head starts drooping as she tries to stand up. Bellamy is just about to walk his plate over to the sink when Madi reaches up towards him.

“Daddy, carry me.” Her voice is soft and she can barely keep her eyes open. It makes Bellamy smile as he leans down to pick her up.

“Carry you where, sweetheart?”

“I don’t know.” Madi yawns a little then leans her head on Bellamy’s shoulder, wrapping her arm around him.

“I think someone had a little too much to eat.” Clarke rubs Madi’s back and Madi nods her head. “Do you want to lay in the living room and watch a movie?” Madi nods her head again and Bellamy kisses it.

“I got her, stay and relax.” He leans over and kisses Clarke on the forehead before turning and heading towards the hall. He walks towards the living room and makes a little wall of pillows on the couch to keep Madi from rolling off and then searches the TV for something to put on. He goes directly to Disney and is relived when he sees that _Lilo & Stitch_ is on, so he selects that then bends down to kiss Madi’s head.

“Goodnight, darling.”

“Night night, daddy.” Madi yawns then closes her eyes, and Bellamy takes a second to look at his daughter. _I never thought I’d get this_ …

He tears himself out of his feelings then heads back towards the kitchen. He can hear Clarke and her mom talking, and he doesn’t want to eavesdrop, but he figures out that they’re talking about him.

“I never thought I’d find someone as good as him.” Bellamy’s heart leaps. _Neither did I_.

“Oh, Clarke, I always knew you were going to find someone that was worth your love, but I couldn’t have imagined someone as great as Bellamy.”

That just about knocks the breath from Bellamy’s lungs.

“Me either. Thanks, mom.”

Bellamy takers a second to pull himself together. After spending a good portion of his life believing that he wouldn’t even settle down with someone, hearing the girl he loves and her mother both give him such high praise is enough for him to have to fight back a couple of tears. _Maybe Octavia was right_.

He takes a deep breath then walks back into the kitchen in time to see Abby and Clarke pull apart. “I put her down and she’s watching _Lilo & Stitch_ now, but I think Kane wants to get to work on the yard soon.”

Abby smiles then slips out of the kitchen while Clarke skips over to Bellamy and wraps her arms around his neck. “Does this mean I get to watch you work?”

Bellamy smirks down at her. “Careful, baby, someone might think you’re attracted to me,” he teases.

“Why would they ever get that idea?” Clarke grins slyly at him and he leans down, giving her a kiss. She threads her fingers into his hair and pulls him closer.

The back door closes from down the hall and they break apart. “I guess I should go help.” He pouts and Clarke stands on her tip toes and gives him a chaste kiss.

“I’ll bring you something to drink later.”

“Mmm…” his arm around her waist tightens and she giggles. “How’d I get so lucky?” He leans forward and presses their foreheads together.

“I ask myself that every day.” Clarke blushes and Bellamy smiles as he peppers her face with kisses. _Maybe she does feel the same way._

“I won’t be long, you go relax with Madi.”

“Are you trying to tell me what to do?” Clarke quirks and eyebrow and he grins. The smile that only she can seem to pull from him.

“I would never.” He steps backwards, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of it. “Try not to miss me.”

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself.” Clarke huffs and rolls her eyes but it only makes Bellamy grin wider.

“If you say so, Princess.” Bellamy winks then he disappears down the hall.

When he gets outside, Kane is already piling a few of the smaller twigs and sticks into a pile but it isn’t as bad as he expected it to be. Though the tree limb that fell looks like it’s going to be a hassle to move from the center of the yard.

“Unfortunately I only have a hand-held saw, so that might take a minute.” Kane says pointed to the limb. “But I don’t think it’ll take too much time.”

“I’m sure it won’t be so bad.” Bellamy says as he begins picking up some of the sticks. “If you want I can go ahead and start working on it.”

“Nah, we’ll work on it together.” Kane motions towards a wheelbarrow that he’s started throwing the sticks in. “But we can everything in there for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two of them work in silence for a little bit until Kane begins asking Bellamy if he’s looking forward to the upcoming semester. Bellamy, being completely possessed by his love for Clarke and Madi, says that he’s excited to teach but also to work out a lunch schedule with Clarke and that he’s going to work his office hours around being able to watch Madi so she won’t have to go to daycare as much. Kane smiles as Bellamy talks and Bellamy takes that as a good sign.

“I heard Madi call you dad earlier, is that new?” Kane asks as he pulls out the handheld saw and Bellamy takes it.

“Yeah, she started calling me that on the Fourth of July.”

“Did you and Clarke talk about it before?”

“Uh, no. I uh—” Bellamy straightens and runs his hand over the back of his neck. “I knew Clarke had reservations about stuff like that even though she never explicitly said anything, so I didn’t want to push anything.”

“But you were fine with it?” Kane stops trying to break off some twigs and looks up at Bellamy. “You’re okay with Madi calling you dad?”

Despite the awkwardness that he feels, Bellamy smiles. “Yeah, definitely.”

Kane is silent for a second before he nods his head. “Good.” Bellamy nods his head too and gets to work sawing one section of the tree off but it’s not long before Kane stops working and looks at him again. “And Clarke, you—”

“I love her.” Bellamy says it without a second thought and when he realizes that he just admitted that to Clarke’s step dad after three months with her, he can feel his face heat up even more. “It’s only been three months, I know that, but—”

“Has Clarke told you about me and her mother?” Kane interrupts him and Bellamy breaks off.

“No, sir.”

“I met Abby through Thelonious not long after Jake had passed. And, whatever this may say about me, I fell in love with her instantly. She’s an amazing woman and even though Clarke took longer to come around to me, I couldn’t deny that Clarke was a pretty amazing girl too.”

“Griffin women.” Bellamy nods, seeing where this is going.

“Griffin women.” Kane as he chuckles lightly. “I know how Jake and Abby came to be together, and I accept that some part of her will always love him, but that’s life. I knew that I loved Abby early on but I also knew that, if she were to ever feel the same, then it would take a while and I was willing to wait.”

Bellamy can see the past few months in his mind. “Me too.”

“I could tell that day at the party that you loved her, and I know that while she may still seem guarded, she feels the same way.”

“That’s what my sister keeps telling me but—” Bellamy stops. _How much is too much?_ “But I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“I don’t think you would be getting your hopes up.” Kane smiles at him. “I’ve never seen her work so well with someone else.”

“Thank you, Kane.”

“Anytime.” The older man nods then motions towards the tree limb. “Now, let’s get this done so we can go see our women.”

Bellamy chuckles then gets back to work. Despite the awkwardness of the conversation at first, Bellamy feels lighter. It seems like both Abby and Marcus have accepted him and Clarke doesn’t seem too far from telling him that she loves him too, but he doesn’t want to think about that too much. He just wants to live in the now and let her tell him on her own.

Forty-five minutes later, Bellamy and Kane walk back into the house and Bellamy realizes that Clarke never brought him a glass of water like she said that she would. But when she walks into the kitchen as he’s rubbing a towel across his face, he realizes that she must’ve fallen asleep with Madi.

“I hope Kane didn’t make you work too hard.” Her soft voice comes from the doorway and he turns towards her, grinning.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, Princess.” He winks and Clarke laughs, making her way towards the cabinet to grab a glass. She fills it up with ice and lemonade before handing it over to him.

“Sorry, I should’ve brought this out sooner but Madi and I fell asleep.”

“Nothing to apologize for, thank you.” Bellamy wraps his free arm around her waist then kisses her temple. “But after I drink this I think I need a shower.”

“I think you do too, you kind of smell.” Clarke scrunches up her nose and Bellamy pouts.

“You don’t like my manly musk?”

“Oh my _god_ ,” Clarke laughs, “don’t even go down that road.”

“Why not? We used to be cavemen, babe, being smelly was all part of the mating process.” He grins before leaning in to kiss her and she squeals before ducking away.

“Alright, I’m going to go back to sleep with Madi, feel free to join us after your _manly musk_ has been put under control.” She blows him a kiss and winks before heading back into the living room.

Bellamy downs the glass of lemonade then rushes upstairs to shower. After everything he’s heard this morning he’s a lot more excited than usual and he still has the rest of the day to go to the museum. He showers quickly, texts Octavia about how they’re going to the museum, and tells Miller to fuck off when he asks if Clarke’s parents know they’re getting married.

By the time he’s clean and heading down to the living room, he can barely contain his excitement. Clarke has curled up on the couch again with Madi and they’re both sleeping, with Clarke’s arm wrapped protectively around Madi to make sure she doesn’t fall off. Bellamy smiles then takes a picture of the two of them, making a note to send it to Clarke later. His smile doesn’t leave his face as he climbs onto the couch and tries to squeeze in my Clarke’s legs, but when she wakes up he settles for resting his head on the side of her hip.

“What are we going to do today?” Bellamy asks and he can see a soft smile spread across Clarke’s lips.

“What do _you_ want to do today?”

 _Oh, princess…_ “I can think of at least one thing.” Bellamy continues grinning and Clarke takes the pillow from behind her head and swats him with it.

“I said to _day_ , not to _night_.” She whispers, glancing around to make sure her mom and Marcus wasn’t listening to their conversation. _Tonight? I can wait for tonight_.

“Museum?” Bellamy picks his head up and keeps smiling at her. They were already going to go to the museum, but he feels like he needs to ask just make sure it’s real.

“Any museum in particular?”

“Museum of Natural History.”

Clarke smiles. “Then museum it is.”

Thirty minutes later the three of them pile into Kane’s truck and Clarke pulls out of her neighborhood and into the streets of D.C.. Bellamy has to physically keep himself from jumping up and down in his seat, and what takes his mind off the museum is how beautiful Clarke looks beside him.

“What?” She turns and smiles at him. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, I just like to look at you.” Bellamy grins then reaches over and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You are so cheesy.” Clarke chuckles then the vehicle starts moving again as the light turns green.

Once they’re in the museum, Bellamy can’t seem to organize his thoughts long enough to figure out where he wants to go inside the museum. He holds onto Madi and points around he building, which causes Madi to stare at everything he’s pointing to. Eventually, Bellamy settles on the hall of human origins as Clarke follows him, laughing.

Clarke had talked about not liking the tours that the museums gave, but she seems to be paying attention to what Bellamy is saying. She smiles and nods her head and even asks him some questions whenever he goes too quickly. He feels like a little kid again, and he loves that he’s getting to share this with Clarke and Madi.

He loses track of time, but when he notices Clarke looking at him out of the corner of his eye he stops talking and can feel the heat rush to his cheeks. “What?”

Clarke gives him a sweet smile as she leans into his chest. “Nothing, I just like looking at you.” Clarke leans into his chest and smiles up at him.

“Seems that’s one thing we can agree on.” He smirks.

“Yes, it is.” She flicks her eyes towards his mouth and he smiles before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips.

“Oh, how adorable.” The two of them break apart and see an older couple smiling at them.

“Don’t mind her, she likes getting into people’s business,” is what the older man says, but Bellamy can tell he’s teasing by the way he smiles at his wife.

“Do you want us to take a picture?” The older lady smiles and Bellamy can see Clarke’s cheeks turn pink.

“If you’d be so kind.” Clarke pulls her phone out of her back pocket and hands it over.

“Alright, big smiles for the beautiful family.” The lady holds up the phone and Bellamy’s arm tightens around Clarke’s waist, bringing her closer to him. He turns to look at her, smiling, and when she looks at him she’s smiling too. “Perfect!” The lady hands the phone back to Clarke then she and her husband say goodbye.

Clarke sends the picture to Bellamy and he can feel his heart expand as he looks at it. Madi is grinning at the two of them and Bellamy finally sees what everyone has been talking about: he looks like a man in love and Clarke looks the same. He sets the picture as his home screen and doesn’t stop thinking about it the entire time they’re at the museum. _My beautiful, wonderful, amazing family_.

They take their time going around the rest of the museum and by the time they’re finished, Bellamy is hungry again and so are Clarke and Madi. While he and Clarke are trying to decide on a place to go, Bellamy decides to slip a text to Wells, telling him that they’re at the museum and that he should come surprise Clarke whenever the figure out where they’re going. Wells texts back immediately saying he’s on his way and when he and Clarke decide to go to a café so they can figure out where they want to go next, Bellamy texts Wells again.

They get their coffee and haven’t been sitting down long when Clarke’s phone starts ringing. Bellamy already knows who it is, so he tries to start looking around for Wells.

“Wells Jaha, long time no talk.” Clarke says as she sips on her coffee. “True. So, what’s up?” Bellamy watches as Clarke’s head snaps up and she looks over to her right, she grins then bolts out of her seat and runs towards Wells.

Bellamy feels like most people would be intimidated by how close Clarke and Wells are, but he knows that their relationship is purely familial. He can look at the two of them and see him and Octavia, even though Clarke and Wells aren’t even related. The two of them head back towards the table and Bellamy and Madi smile at them.

“Uncle Wells!” Madi chirps and Wells smiles before leaning down to give Madi a hug.

“Hey, little one.”

“What’s with that face?” Clarke cocks an eyebrow at him as she sits down, pulling her chair closer to Bellamy’s so Wells has a place to sit.

“Nothing.” Bellamy grins then he and Wells nod and smile at each other. Clarke narrows her eyes and looks between the two of them.

“You told him where we were, didn’t you?” She turns towards Bellamy and his grin only widens.

“Maybe.”

Clarke laughs then throws her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Clarke.” He knows how much she loves and misses her best friend, so if he’s able to surprise her then he will. She gives him a bright smile then Wells speaks up.

“But now that I am here, who’s hungry?” Wells rubs his hands together and looks at them.

“What do you have in mind?” Clarke asks.

“I was thinking Bellamy might enjoy Busboys and Poets.” Wells smiles.

“We haven’t been there in forever!” Clarke turns to Bellamy and smiles. “Do you want to go?”

Bellamy looks skeptically between Wells and Clarke but he can feel himself smile. “Lead the way, Princess.”

Bellamy doesn’t know what he was expecting from Busboys and Poets but, man, he loves the place already. There’s books everywhere and there’s some fantastic artwork on the walls too. The hostess directs them to a table and puts some paper and crayons down in front of Madi, who immediately starts drawing on them, then Bellamy, Clarke, and Wells start trying to figure out what they want to eat.

“Your mother mentioned something about not eating too much while we’re out.” Bellamy tells Clarke as he colors in a little flower in the corner of one of Madi’s pieces of paper.

“My dad is also dropping by tonight, Kane said something about grilling?” Wells says over his menu.

“So that’s why I saw my mother carrying a bunch of grocery bags from the butcher. I thought she was just craving red meat.” Clarke muses and Wells snorts.

“Is she really going all out for dinner too?” Bellamy asks and Clarke and Wells share a look.

“Going all out is my mother’s specialty.” Clarke smiles. “I think she wants to buy your love with food.”

“Baby, I don’t need food for that.” Bellamy reaches across the table and grabs Clarke’s hand, not missing the way her eyes widen a fraction as she looks at him. _Wait, did I just say that_? Bellamy has a brief moment of panic but it goes away slightly when Clarke gives him a soft smile and leans over to kiss him.

“Oh god, don’t make me throw up before I’ve had a chance to eat.” Wells groans and it makes Madi laugh.

The waitress comes back shortly after and takes their orders, and it’s not long before they’re eating their light lunch. They take their time eating, but before long Jaha is calling Wells and Abby is texting both Clarke and Bellamy to make sure that they get home soon. Wells and Bellamy split the check then they say their goodbyes before Clarke leads the way back to the car.

Walking through the front door, Bellamy wasn’t expecting Thelonious Jaha to be waiting for them. He gives Clarke a hug and shakes Bellamy’s hand, then picks up Madi who smiles. He leads the way through the house to the backyard where Kane already has the barbeque pit going. Clarke had explained to Bellamy in the car that her mom and Kane were never ones to barbeque and sit outside, but they liked the birthday party so much that they went out and bought a new barbeque pit.

“Ah, there they are!” Kane looks up and waves the tongs at them. “How was the museum?”

“I think the museum was a hit.” Clarke smiles at Bellamy and he knows he’s already grinning from ear to ear.

“I loved it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

“Incoming!” Abby’s voice rings across the yard and everyone moves out of her way as she carries a tray full of food towards Kane.

“Think you got enough food, mom?” Clarke quirks an eyebrow at her mother.

“Yeah, mom, that’s enough food to feed an entire army.” Wells raises his eyebrows too.

“Good, then we’ll have left overs!” Abby grins and Clarke laughs from beside Bellamy. She had also told him that her mother was either nervous about him coming to D.C. or she went overboard when preparing the food, but Bellamy’s inclined to believe that it may be both.

“Bellamy,” Abby says as she starts back towards the house, “would you be a dear and make sure my husband and Jaha don’t burn themselves?”

“Hey!” Jaha protests.

“That’s not nice, sweetie.” Kane gives Abby an angry pout.

“It’s all from love, darling. All from love.” Abby winks then rushes back inside and Bellamy watches her go. Their interaction reminds him of the conversation he had with Kane only a few hours before.

“So, I have a question.” Bellamy wraps his arms around Clarke’s waist and leans in towards her ear. “Do you think that’ll be us when we’re their age in like twenty years?” Everything from today seems to be building up to where Bellamy is sure he’s going to cave and tell Clarke he loves her at some point soon. But he’s still trying to hold himself back.

“Them, and the older couple from the museum.” Clarke smiles and leans into him more. He kisses the tip of her ear and she giggles. “Is this you telling me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me, Mr. Blake?”

 _Yes._ His arms tighten around her and the words are there, they’re on the tip of his tongue, but before he can try and string a sentence together Kane calls him over to the barbeque pit which breaks them apart. When Clarke turns her head up to look at him, he kisses the top of her head and smiles but the look in her eyes tells him that she’s disappointed that he didn’t answer.

Bellamy lets her go so he can go to the barbeque pit but even walking a few feet away from her makes him feel like she’s been ripped from him. _Get a grip, she’s right there_. Bellamy takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. Kane is looking at him like he understands where he’s coming from and Jaha seems as if he’s trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

“Don’t look at him like that, Jaha, he’s not going to hurt her.” Kane whispers and Bellamy has a brief moment of panic.

“You’re not, are you?” Jaha raises an eyebrow at Bellamy and Bellamy gulps.

“No sir.”

“Well, okay then.”

Bellamy lets out the breath he had been holding and takes the tongs from Kane so he can put the meat onto the pit. Clarke may only be related to her mother, but she has a dad, an uncle, and a brother that would probably rip Bellamy in half if he ever did anything to hurt her. _Good thing that’s never going to happen._

Clarke, Madi, and Abby all get into the pool and Wells joins the rest of them with the food. Bellamy really can’t help himself when it comes to stealing glances at Clarke, but his heart flips every time he realizes that she’s doing the same thing.

“You can go get in the pool, you know.” Wells nudges him and it brings Bellamy’s attention back to him.

“What—”

“Bellamy, if you don’t stop making puppy dog eyes and get into that damn pool I’ll tell Clarke to throw you in herself.”

Bellamy chuckles and holds up his hands. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” He turns and starts towards the pool, taking his shirt off as he goes, then gets into the pool.

Clarke has Madi bouncing up and down between her legs like the first time he had gotten into the pool with them, and like then he swims to where they are and ducks underwater before shooting up with Madi in his arms.

“Got you!” Bellamy grins triumphantly and Madi squeals.

“Daddy!”

“Hey, munchkin.”

“Again, daddy!”

“Again?” Bellamy lifts Madi into the air, causing her to laugh more. “You want to do that again?” Madi nods her head. “Alright, hold on.”

Bellamy goes under water then shoots back up, only making Madi laugh louder. After a few more jumps, Bellamy swims over to Clarke with Madi still in his arms and wraps his free arm around her waist.

“Hey, mama.” Bellamy grins.

“Hi.” Clarke blushes and Bellamy leans in to kiss her cheek.

“Madi, do you want a popsicle?” Kane calls from the back door and Madi starts nodding her head wildly. Bellamy sets her onto the concrete and she runs towards her grandfather.

“Now, I can have you all to myself.” This time, Bellamy wraps both of his arms around Clarke’s waist and pulls her into his lap.

“Bellamy, my family is here.” She chastises him, but gives her a mischievous grin.

“I’m not doing anything, Princess, my hands are respectfully on your waist.”

“I’m straddling you in front of my best friend and his dad.” She points out.

“You’re sitting mostly on my knees, I don’t think that’s a problem, baby.” He keeps grinning as he brings one hand up to cup the back of her head. He leans in and kisses her. Something he’s pretty sure he could do for the rest of his life.

“Ew, go to your room, young lady!” Wells groans from somewhere behind them and the two of them break apart, laughing.

“No one said you had to be here, Jaha.” Clarke retorts.

“Please, we both know you want me here.”

“Don’t push it.” Clarke calls back to her friend then turns her attention back to Bellamy. “Now, where were we?” Bellamy grins before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.

The rest of the day goes pretty much the same. The two of them swim for a little bit longer until Bellamy has to get out to help with the food, then Clarke, Madi, Wells, and Abby all play hide and seek, but in between everything, Bellamy is always wrapping Clarke in his arms and kissing her. Every time she giggles or squeals whenever he surprises her makes his heart leap and flip over and over again and he loves it.

That night, after Wells and Jaha have gone home and her parents have gone to sleep for the night, Clarke and Bellamy lie in her bed and just talk about what else they want to do while they’re on the trip. The conversation drifts into them asking each other questions and laughing in the shared space between them. It’s something he’s never had before, and he loves that it’s with her.

“Can I tell you something?” Clarke asks after a yawn.

“Of course.” Bellamy runs his thumb over hers. They’re both lying on their sides and facing each other, with their left hands intertwined. 

“You’re the first significant other I’ve ever brought to D.C.”

“Really?” 

“Mhm.” Clarke yawns again. “I never felt ready to bring Finn or Lexa. I can’t really tell you why I didn’t want them to see my room, or see the house I grew up in, because I really don’t know. It didn’t help that Finn didn’t like me being friends with Wells either.” Clarke yawns for a third time then gives him a soft smile when he yawns too.

“Well _I_ have no problem with it. You two grew up together.” 

“Thank you.” Clarke smiles and leans over to give him another kiss. 

“And I’m honored to be the first one in your room and to meet Mr. Snuffles.” 

Clarke laughs, but it’s a sleepy laugh that makes Bellamy’s heart melt. “I’m glad it was you.” Clarke’s hand squeezes Bellamy and he leans over to kiss hers. 

They continue to talk but at some point she yawns and doesn’t open her eyes again. Bellamy can feel sleep pulling him under too, but he chuckles as he looks at her. 

“Sleepy, Princess?”

“Mhmm…” She nods her head and scoots closer to him. He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. Bellamy’s pretty sure sleeping with her in his arms is one of the best things in the world. 

“Goodnight, baby.” He kisses the top of her head and she places a kiss to his chest.

“Goodnight, Bellamy.” His arms tighten around her.

They lay like that for a while, and everything from the day comes flooding back to Bellamy and he has a surge of emotion. _Abby’s praise, Kane’s talk, Clarke…_

Everything is quiet as Bellamy starts to nuzzle Clarke’s hair. He’s sleepy too, but at least in the darkness of her room with her asleep in his arms he doesn’t worry about what he’s about to say. “I love you, Clarke.” He whispers it into her hair and it feels nice to finally say it out loud to her, but she’s asleep and won’t remember in the morning. _I can wait._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was pretty sure he was going to explode if he didn't say it at some point, but if you've read Clarke's POV then you know the last little bit isn't exactly true ;) and I don’t think Bellamy has felt so accepted lol
> 
> We only have two chapters left but those chapters are him meeting Finn, the proposal, and the wedding! So I'm super excited to write them
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas in Arkadia and Bellamy gets to see Finn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this chapter and have no self control when it comes to posting so that’s why it’s up today :)

Clarke tells Bellamy she loves him on the first cool day of September when they’re curled up in a pillow fort in her living room while Madi sleeps. Since that night in her bedroom in D.C., Bellamy’s whispered those three words to her in the cover of darkness when he was sure that he wouldn’t make it seem like he was trying to force her into something, but he was dying to tell her to her face.

Bellamy has his laptop resting on a chair in front of them with Clarke curled up at his side. They spent the day at the park since neither of them had really been able to spend much time just getting to be together since the semester started, but Bellamy made sure to take time to show his girls how much he loves them. Now, Madi is asleep in her bed and Clarke is pressed against his side while they watch _A Midnight in Paris_.

“We should go to Paris one day.” Clarke props her head up on Bellamy’s chest and he runs his fingers through her silky blonde hair.

“Any particular reason why?”

A sweet smile spreads across Clarke’s face and it make’s Bellamy’s heart melt. She leans into his hand and he moves it to hold her face. “I want you to be as happy as you were in the museum again, running around smiling and not knowing which way to go.” Clarke turns her head and kisses his palm. “I want to travel everywhere with you.”

Bellamy gives her a soft smile and leans forward, giving her a slow kiss. “I’m always that happy.” He runs his thumb over her cheekbone. “With you and Madi, I’m always happy.”

“I’m happy, too.” Clarke keeps smiling as she leans forward and gives him another kiss. “I love you, Bellamy.”

Those three words, those three beautiful words he’s waited for her to say, makes his heart explode in his chest. A smile breaks across his face and he leans forward, enveloping Clarke in his arms which makes her giggle. He rolls them over and presses her into the blankets that they had laid out. “I love you, too.”

“I know.” Clarke runs her fingers over his day-old stubble. “I’ve heard you tell me, when you thought I was asleep, I just—I don’t know.” Bellamy watches as she bites her bottom lip and turns her big, blue eyes up to him. “I wanted to tell you sooner, I guess I was just—”

Bellamy cuts her off with a kiss. “You don’t need to give me a reason, Clarke. I would’ve waited until you were ready, however long it would’ve been.”

Clarke’s eyes shine and for a moment Bellamy is worried she’s going to start crying, but she smiles. “You truly are the most amazing man I’ve ever met, you know that, right?”

“No, but I like hearing that.” Bellamy smiles then peppers kisses all over her face. “But you are the most amazing woman I have ever met.”

“Mmm…” Clarke purrs and wraps her arms around his neck. “Am I now?”

“Yes.” Bellamy leans forward and rubs his nose against hers. “You’re a walking goddess, and you’re all mine.” He gives her a wicked grin and watches as her eyes darken.

“So does that mean I’m Aphrodite if you’re a walking Adonis?”

“I think I have our Halloween costumes picked out.” Bellamy keeps smiling as Clarke throws her head back and laughs.

“Couples costumes, I like it.” Clarke pulls Bellamy down for another kiss. “Now, you were saying something about me being yours, but what about you?” Bellamy’s heart flips at the look in her eyes.

“I am completely and wholly yours.” Bellamy presses his lips to hers and can feel Clarke smile.

“Mine.”

Bellamy presses himself closer to her. “Yours.”

Clarke giggles then flips the two of them over, the sight of her on top makes Bellamy’s body jump to attention as he rubs circles on the exposed skin of her hips. “I think I could get used to hearing that.” Clarke grins at him as she grinds against him and Bellamy’s head presses into the pillows.

“Good.” Bellamy reaches up and brings Clarke down for a searing kiss.

 _She loves me_.

\---

Now, another semester of school is down, Bellamy has finished grading the final exams and he, Clarke, Madi, and their friends are gathering around town squarer to see the lighting of the Christmas tree. He’s wearing his peacoat over a light sweater since he’s never really minded the cold, but Clarke is bundled up a little more than he is. Once the tree is lit, they’ll all head back to his place to celebrate the end of the semester and some much needed family time.

Madi is wrapped up in Bellamy’s arms as he points out different things they can see on the dark tree. There’s a Santa Claus ornament, and a reindeer, a glittery snowflake that looks about the size of Madi’s head…they still need to finish decorating the tree at his place.

A strong breeze cuts through the square and Madi buries her face against Bellamy’s neck while Clarke huddles a little more into her jacket.

“Hey, do you want some hot chocolate?” Clarke looks up at him and, like always, she takes his breath away. Her cheeks are red from the cold and her blonde hair flows a little in the soft wind. _How I ever got her I will never know_. Her eyes drift down to his chin and he can see one of her hands move to touch him but she stops herself. He hasn’t had time to shave in the past few days, and Bellamy thinks that Clarke might like it.

“I can get it.” Bellamy smiles.

“I got it,” Clarke leans over and presses a kiss to his cheek. “Madi, do you want to help me?”  Madi nods and Bellamy puts her down, and Clarke grabs her hand. “We’ll be right back, daddy.” Clarke winks and Bellamy swallows, hard. Clarke gives him a mischievous grin then disappears into the crowd with Madi beside her.

“I didn’t know you had a Daddy kink, Blake.” Murphy draws from beside Bellamy and Bellamy has to keep himself from hitting the other guy.

“I don’t see how that is any of your business, Murphy.” Bellamy grumbles under his breath and Murphy laughs. “Besides, it’s not a _kink_ , I’m Madi’s dad.”

“Uh-huh.” Murphy shoves his hands in his pockets and leans over. “You should have her say it in the bedroom.”

“Fuck off, Murphy.”

“Hey, don’t knock it til you try it.” Murphy shrugs then returns to Emori.

August waddles over to him and he turns around, picking him up. “Hey, buddy.”

“Your kid is gone for two minutes and you’re already stealing mine.” Octavia teases as she walks up. “Where’d they go?”

“Get hot chocolate.”

“Ooh, hot chocolate sounds good right now.” Octavia grins then looks over at the line. “But it’s too long.”

Bellamy looks too and sighs. “Yeah, it might take them a minute.”

Octavia nods but it’s like Bellamy can see the gears turning in his little sister’s head. “Have you thought about what I said?”

“About what?”

Octavia rolls her eyes then looks at him. “You know what.”

Bellamy can feel his cheeks turn an even deeper red. “You _know_ what I think, O, but I’m not going to change my mind. We haven’t even moved in together yet, don’t you think that should be first?”

“Linc asked me to marry him before we moved in together.”

“But you were also pregnant.”

“And you two already have a kid together.” Octavia rests her hands on her hips and stares at him. “We all know it’s going to happen eventually and, if I’m being honest, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet.”

“I don’t even have a ring.”

“And I can _guarantee_ you that she does not care if you have a ring or not.”

“I’m staying with my original plan, Octavia.”

“But, Bell—”

“If you say it’s inevitable then what’s the problem with waiting four more months?”

Octavia huffs and shakes her head. “I hate you sometimes, you know that?”

“Yeah, but you still love me.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Octavia grumbles and Bellamy feigns outrage. “You know I do.” Octavia nudges him then reaches out for August. “Now, give me my son and go find your girls.” She motions towards the hot chocolate line and Bellamy can’t keep the smile from his face.

Bellamy starts towards the line but there’s so many people that’s gathered for the tree lighting ceremony that he has to try and maneuver himself through a lot of people before he can even figure out which direction the line goes. When he breaks through the crowd, his eyes instantly find Clarke’s blonde hair peeking out from under her white cap with Madi’s little figure tucked beside her.

“There’s my girls!” Bellamy says as he gets closer and he can see tension leave Clarke’s shoulders. _What’s that about?_ When he reaches them, he’s vaguely aware of someone standing a few feet from Clarke and Madi but he’s too focused on them. “Hey, I was wondering what was taking so long.”

“Hi, daddy.” Madi smiles up at him and leans down to pick her up.

“Hi, Princess.” Bellamy leans in to give Clarke a kiss on the cheek, still aware of the person a few feet away and notices that it’s a guy before getting a good look at him. Bellamy turns to the other guy and even though he feels like he should know him, he doesn’t. “Hi, I’m Bellamy.” He holds his hand out and the other guy hesitates before shaking it.

“Finn.”

Without meaning to, Bellamy’s hand tightens around Finn’s and he turns to Clarke whenever they let go, silently asking her if it’s _the_ Finn. Finn Collins. Her eyes are wide as she looks at him and she gives him the smallest nod. _So it is him_. Anger boils up in Bellamy’s chest but he doesn’t look at Finn as he wraps his free hand around Clarke’s waist and pulls her towards him, and Madi lays her head on his shoulder. _Fucking Finn._ _Why is he here?_

“I—” Finn clears his throat, “I should probably get going. It was nice seeing you again, Clarke, and meeting you, Bellamy.” Finn shoves his hands in his pockets and gives them a quick nod before turning around walking away.

When Finn is out of sight, Clarke sags against Bellamy and buries her head into his shoulder. Bellamy’s heart aches and he tightens his hold on her, murmuring into her hat.

“I got you, baby.” Bellamy whispers and Clarke wraps her hands around his waist and squeezes. “Can you talk to me?”

Clarke picks her head up and sniffles. “It’s stupid, I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“You do.” Bellamy whispers into her hair and places a kiss on her crown. _He left you when you needed him and you haven’t seen or heard from him since. Of course seeing him would hurt_.

“Next in line!” The person at the window calls.

“Here, can you take Madi while I get the drinks?” Bellamy asks and Clarke nods as she reaches out for her daughter.

“I have to pee, mama.”

“Okay, darling,” Clarke looks up at Bellamy, “we’ll meet you back at our spot, yeah?”

“Sounds good, Princess.” Bellamy smiles at her and, despite the situation, she smiles back.

Bellamy grabs two cups of hot chocolate, assuming that Madi would just drink from his or Clarke’s then heads back to their friend group. He knows that there’s no chance of seeing Finn anywhere near them, especially since Raven is here, but he can’t help keeping his head on a swivel. Raven notices his incessant looking around and walks up to him.

“Did you lose Clarke and Madi? Because Clarke knows where we are.” She teases, but Bellamy can’t bring himself to laugh. “What’s wrong?”

“Finn showed up.” Bellamy bites the words out and keeps looking around. “He found Clarke while she waiting in line for hot chocolate but she’s bringing Madi to the restroom now.”

“Finn’s here?” Raven’s eyes go wide and she starts looking around too. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

“I don’t know, Raven.” Bellamy sighs and goes to run his hand through his hair until he realizes that he’s still holding two cups of hot chocolate. “I don’t know what he said to her but she started crying.” _What if he wants her back?_

Raven’s eyebrows crease together but before she can say anything, something catches her attention over Bellamy’s shoulder and he turns to look. Clarke doesn’t look like she’s crying, but her nose is red and so are her eyes. Raven moves forward to say something but Clarke waves her off before passing Madi off to her so she can go see August. Bellamy hands Clarke the cup of hot chocolate and pulls her close.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Bellamy rests his head on top of hers. He definitely wants to talk about it, but he doesn’t want to push her into anything.

“I don’t even know what to say.” Clarke murmurs into his chest.

“Well, what did he say?”

“He said he wanted to apologize.” Clarke pulls back and looks at him. “He wanted to apologize for leaving me to deal with the pregnancy by myself. But I told him I wasn’t alone, I had Raven.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Well I told him that if he really did regret his decision then he could’ve apologized sooner. He started to say something else but then Madi got his attention and then you showed up.”

Bellamy reaches up and runs his fingers through her hair. _But what if…_ “If he had apologized sooner…” Bellamy trails off but Clarke stands there looking at him, waiting for him to finish. “If he had apologized sooner, would you have taken him back?” The words hurt as soon as they’re out, but thankfully he doesn’t have to wait for Clarke to respond.

“No.” Clarke’s answer is immediate. “He could have apologized and turned his life around for the better, and even wanted to be a dad to Madi, but I wouldn’t have taken him back.”

The months of being with her and Madi flash through is mind, and hearing Clarke say that she wouldn’t go back to the actual father…“And you’re sure?” Any doubts he may have had over the last eight months start to creep back into his mind.

“Of course I’m sure, Bellamy.” Now, she’s the one to bring her hands up and run her fingers through his hair. “Everything that’s happened has brought me to right here, right now, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” A ghost of a smile forms on Bellamy’s lips and Clarke keeps talking. “You’re it for me, Bellamy, you’re my forever. You’re who I want to wake up to every morning and fall asleep with every night. You may not be Madi’s real dad and now that Finn’s back in Arkadia he may want to fight for custody, but no matter what happens, I’ll always choose you.” Bellamy leans forward and presses their foreheads together. “It’ll always be you.”

Bellamy pulls Clarke in for a kiss and tries to pour all of his love and feelings into it, and he can feel Clarke do the same. His fingers knot in her hair and the conversation he had with Octavia flits back into his mind. _I’m going to marry her_. He forgets that they’re in public and lets himself get lost in _her_. It’s only when there’s some whoops and yells from Murphy and Jasper that the two of them break apart.

“I love you, Clarke Griffin.” Bellamy caresses her cheek with his thumb.

“And I love you, Bellamy Blake.” He smiles at her.

“Ten! Nine! Eight…” The countdown to the tree lighting starts and Raven hands Madi back to Clarke so they can all watch it together. When the countdown gets to one, everyone cheers and Madi claps her hands, smiling from ear to ear.

“Merry Christmas, my darling.” Clarke kisses Madi on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas, mama.” Madi smiles then leans her head onto Clarke’s shoulder.

“And Merry Christmas, daddy.” Clarke smiles at Bellamy.

“Merry Christmas, daddy.” Madi echoes and Bellamy’s smile widens.

“Merry Christmas to my two favorite girls.” He wraps them into a big bear hug which causes both Clarke and Madi to start laughing.

“Don’t let Octavia hear you say that,” Clarke teases and Bellamy only smirks.

“She’ll be okay.”

“Come on, guys! We still have a party to start!” Murphy calls from his place with Emori and there’s more whoops and cheers from their friend group.

“Daddy.” Madi yawns and reaches out for Bellamy who takes her willingly. “I tired.”

“We’ll get you to bed, sweetie.” He kisses her head then takes Clarke hand in his free one. “Ready for more celebrating?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Clarke smiles.

Everyone is already inside the house by the time Bellamy and Clarke pull into the driveway, and Madi is passed out in her car seat. Bellamy grabs the bags out of the backseat while Clarke gets Madi out of the truck and the three of them head into the house together. There’s some quiet Christmas music coming from the kitchen as Clarke and Bellamy make their way up to one of the spare bedrooms. A couple of months ago, Bellamy had turned one of the spare bedrooms into a place for August and Madi to sleep so they didn’t have to sleep in his or Octavia’s rooms.

August has already been put to bed and after Madi is fast asleep in her bed too, Bellamy takes Clarke’s hand and guides her downstairs to where everyone else is. Drinks have already been passed around, it’s Murphy’s hot toddys that he’s been making since the weather got colder. As soon as everyone catches sight of them, their own drinks are placed in their hands and before long, Clarke gets roped into dancing with Raven and Harper.

Octavia seems to sense that something is off with Bellamy as he sits on the couch, because she hurtles herself over the back of it and lands on her back, nearly knocking his drink out of his hand.

“Aren’t you a little old to be throwing yourself over things, O?”

“What’s got your underwear in a twist?” Octavia nudges his shoulder and his eyes move to where Clarke is still dancing with Raven and Harper. Octavia seems to catch on and she lowers her voice, moving closer. “Did something happen?”

Before Bellamy can answer, the sight of Clarke being pulled into the kitchen by Raven catches his attention. _Looks like they’re finally going to talk_. Bellamy takes a deep breath then turns back to his sister.

“Finn showed up while Clarke and Madi were getting hot chocolate.” Bellamy whispers, not wanting anyone else to hear, and Octavia’s eyes go wide.

“ _Finn?_ Like cheater, deadbeat, left-me-when-I-was-pregnant, Finn?” Octavia’s voice rose slightly as she talked and Bellamy glanced around the room. Thankfully, everyone was too caught up in their own conversations to really pay attention to him and Octavia.

“Yeah, that one.” Bellamy sighs and leans his head against the couch cushion. “He told her he wanted to apologize for leaving her.”

“How did she react?”

The corners of Bellamy’s mouth turn upwards slightly. “She told him that if he had really been sorry then he would’ve told her sooner and that she had Raven to help her.”

“Fuck.” Octavia whispers then nudges Bellamy’s arm. “So what’s going on in your mind right now?”

“I don’t know.”

“ _Bellamy_.” Octavia raises her eyebrows at him and, in that moment, he’s reminded of their mother.

“What if he wants to fight for custody? Or what if Madi wants him to be her dad instead? What if—”

“Bellamy, listen to me.” Octavia turns towards him and grabs one of his hands. “Madi does not know who he is, and even if he wants half custody do you think Clarke would give it to him?”

“No, but—”

“Madi has only ever known _you_ as her dad and _she chose you_.”

“I know—”

“And has Clarke given you any indication that she would take him back?”

“I know she wouldn’t.”

“Then that’s all that matters. She is _your girlfriend_ and Madi is _your child_ , Bell. Nothing is going to change that.”

Bellamy looks at his sister like he’s just now seeing her for what she is. A wife and a mother on top of being his little sister. “Thank you, O.”

“Of course, big brother. I know how you can get lost in your head sometimes.” Octavia pokes at his forehead and he swats her away. “Now, go dance with the love of your life while I go dance with mine.”

Octavia hops off the couch and Bellamy chuckles before finishing off his drink and making his way into the kitchen. _I hope she and Raven are done talking_.

“Hey, Clarke?” Bellamy pops his head into the kitchen and Raven and Clarke pull apart. “I uh—” He rubs the back of his neck.

“I’ll just go somewhere,” Raven grins before slipping out of the kitchen.

Clarke smiles and walks towards him. “Hello, my handsome knight in shining armor,” Clarke purrs as she wraps her hands around his neck. “Did you want to ask me something?”

Bellamy leans down and rubs his nose along hers. “Do you want to dance, Princess?” His voice is barely above a whisper.

“Dance? Like right now?” Clarke pulls back and smiles up at him. He nods his head.

“Right here, right now.” His hands, which were resting on her hips, snake around her waist as he pulls her closer.

“Let’s dance.”

Clarke rests her head on Bellamy’s chest and he takes one of her hands and clasps it in his. He starts swaying and then starts moving them around the kitchen. There’s music drifting in from the living room and Bellamy focuses on the song lyrics. The feeling of Clarke pressed against him makes his body warm and the happiness he feels from it leads him to start singing along to the song.

 _My heart’s on fire and the flame grows higher_  
_So I will weather the storm_  
_What do I care how much it may storm_  
_I’ve got my love to keep me warm_

Bellamy whisks them around the kitchen, oblivious to their friends partying in the next room and, despite the unpleasantness from an hour before, he’s happy right now. 

When the song comes to an end, Clarke pulls back to look at him and he can see tears pricking the corners of her eyes. He reaches up to wipe them away, his heart clenching. “Baby?” The worry he feels pooling in his chest dissipates when she smiles at him.

“I really love you, you know that?”

“I love you too, Clarke.” He leans down and presses a soft kiss to her lips. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone else.”

Clarke leans forward and smiles. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I’m the lucky one, Princess.” Bellamy gives her another kiss.

The two of them just stand in the kitchen holding each other until Octavia skips into the room with a pong ball in her hand. “Hey, if the two of you want to take a break from trying to sucking each other’s faces off, I want a beer pong rematch.”

“A rematch from the summer, O?” Bellamy smiles at his little sister.

“Hell yes.”

Bellamy chuckles. “Alright, lead the way, and be prepared to get annihilated.”

“No chance in hell, big brother.”

Bellamy and Clarke win the game and the rest of the night goes on like every other get together does. Everyone laughs and dances but Bellamy stays glued to Clarke’s side more than usual, or maybe she stays closer to him, either way, they never leave each other alone. Maybe it’s because of the admittance of just how deeply they love each other, or maybe it has something to do with Finn, Bellamy’s not sure, but his arm stays wrapped around her and knowing she’s there with him makes him feel like he’s walking on cloud nine.

As it’s nearing midnight and everyone is starting to wind down, Bellamy suddenly starts thinking about his mother and slips out into the backyard to try and calm himself down. _Mom would’ve loved this_. The Christmases he got to spend with her play in his mind, as well as the mornings they spent making breakfast and the way she would laugh with her entire body whenever she was happy...He thinks of Octavia and Lincoln, and how their mom would’ve loved the man her daughter married and doted on August. He thinks of Clarke and Madi and how even though Madi may not be Bellamy’s she would’ve loved her the same. _And, god, she would’ve adored Clarke._

“Hey, you okay?” Bellamy starts at Clarke’s voice and he turns around to look at her, she’s huddled near the back door with her arms wrapped firmly around her.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I was just thinking.” His hands are in his pockets and he toes at the ground.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Clarke moves to where he’s standing and tries to give him a smile but a large gust of wind cuts through the yard and she hunches over even more.

“Come here.” Bellamy takes his hands out of his pockets and shrugs off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders with a kiss to her forehead.

“You won’t be cold?”

“I’m fine, baby.” He wraps his arms around her and rests his head on top of hers.

“Are you really?” Her voice is quiet and Bellamy tightens his hold on her.

“I was just thinking about my mom.” He can feel Clarke tense in his arms, and he knows what she must be thinking. He hasn’t talked about her much at all, unless they’re cleaning the house or visiting somewhere she used to bring him and Octavia.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know, it’s just—It’s not a big deal.”

“Hey,” Clarke pulls back to look up at him, “it’s your mom, Bellamy, of course it’s a big deal.”

Bellamy looks down at her. The moon is reflected in her eyes and makes them look even more blue then what they already are. _They look like they’re glowing_. “I was just thinking about how happy she would’ve been to see August, and get to know Madi, and how much she would’ve loved you. Christmas time…” He trails off, looking over Clarke’s head and into the house, “Christmas time is a hard time for me and O, you know? Our mother always loved the season and it took a while after she died for us to really love it again.”

“It was the same way for me when I lost my dad,” Clarke whispers. “He would get so happy when Christmas music would start playing on the radio and he would always put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving.” Bellamy can see Clarke start to tear up and he feels a pang in his chest. “And when he died, it was like all of the Christmas spirit had been sucked out of me. It took years for me to learn how to love Christmas without breaking down at the thought of him not being with me, but I realized that I can celebrate Christmas as a way to keep my father’s spirit alive.”

“I never thought of it that way,” Bellamy murmurs before pulling Clarke back to his chest. “When did you get so wise?” Bellamy teases and Clarke laughs against his chest.

“I think it comes with motherhood.”

Bellamy chuckles. “Maybe so.” _Like Octavia._

When Clarke pulls back to look at him again, Bellamy feels consumed by his love for her. _Eight months in and I still feel like we’re in the honeymoon phase_. He leans down and gives her a soft kiss and she melts into him while his hands tangle in her hair and she grips the front of his sweater. The kiss leaves a scorch mark on Bellamy’s lips, and he loves it.

When they break apart they’re both grinning and Bellamy’s heart leaps. As she’s looking up at him, Bellamy notices something land on her forehead but before he can reach up to wipe it away, it disappears. They both look up at the sky and, within a few seconds, white specks are falling towards the ground. Clarke giggles beside him.

“It’s snowing.” Clarke sounds mesmerized.

“Maybe we’ll have a white Christmas.” Bellamy says as he continues to look up at the sky.

“You think it’ll stick?”

“We can always hope, Princess.” He smiles and Clarke’s grin widens. She looks back at the sky but Bellamy stays focused on her and how happy she looks. When she looks back at him, he leans down and kisses her again. “Merry Christmas, Clarke.”

“Merry Christmas, Bellamy.” She smiles.

The door to the house opens and Bellamy can hear their friends spilling out of it. “It’s snowing!”

“Oh my god!”

“We’re getting a white Christmas!”

The two of them are tackled by their friends and before long, a thin layer of snow is covering the ground and a bunch of grownups are standing around trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. Just for a little while, they can all forget about school, and work, and their loans, and the stress of planning their Christmas get together, and just have fun. They’re all still young and they deserve to act like kids again.

As the snow thickens, the boys try to start a snowball fight but the girls decide to try and make snow angels. Bellamy gets caught up in trying to hit Miller with a snowball but remembers that August and Madi are sleeping upstairs and wonders if they should be woken up so they can see the snow too, but he shares a look with Clarke and it’s one that says that they all need this right now. _It’ll be here in the morning_.

Bellamy helps Clarke up from the place where she was making her snow angel and he picks her up in his arms, twirling her around while she giggles. The sadness that she had been experiencing earlier is nowhere to be seen and the image of her smiling with rosy cheeks and snowflakes in her hair makes him want to never leave this moment. He cradles the back of her head and kisses her, effectively knocking the breath out of both of them.

When they pull apart, he’s grinning. “You do know you mean the absolute world to me, don’t you?”

“Mmm…I may need to be reminded,” Clarke hums and Bellamy leans down to give her another kiss.

“I think we should go to bed.”

Clarke giggles. “I think so too.”

Hand in hand, Bellamy leads the way back through the house and up the stairs to his room. His curtains are open so they can both see the snow falling outside and the moonlight that had been illuminating the backyard. The two of them take their time removing each other’s clothes and trailing kisses across each other’s bodies. It’s slow, and it’s intimate, and Bellamy tries to show her just how much he loves and adores her. When their eyes meet, it’s like Bellamy can see their entire lives spread out before him.

“I love you, Bellamy,” Clarke whispers while lying in his arms. He’s tracing patterns onto her bare back while she counts the freckles on his chest.

“I love you too, Clarke.” He brings her lips up to meet his and she melts into him again.

Since Bellamy grew up feeling like his purpose was to help and protect his mom and sister, he didn’t put much thought into have a life with someone else. He dated, of course, but he knew that they wouldn’t last because he didn’t want them to. Even when he was with Gina and he knew that she was looking for a long-term relationship, he wasn’t. He couldn’t see himself with anyone three years ago, but suddenly he helps a lost girl find her mom inside an airport and he’s head-over-hills for her within one day.

Clarke is asleep in his arms and he looks down at her. Her lips are parted slightly and her ivory skin looks like it’s glowing under the moonlight. _Goddess indeed_. He places a soft kiss to her crown and curls into her more, closing his eyes. They both fall asleep that night with their arms wrapped around each other and nothing but the sound of each other’s breathing and heartbeats lulling them to sleep.

\---

**Clarke Griffin’s Phone**

**Unknown Number  
2:32AM**

_I’m hoping you still have the same number, but if not then this might be awkward. But I didn’t get to finish what I was saying earlier, and I just wanted you to know that I’m happy you’re happy. She’s gotten so big and the guy you’re with, Bellamy, seems like the best father any child could ask for. I really am happy, for the both of you. You don’t have to worry about a custody battle or anything, that’s not something I would want to put her through, or you. I haven’t been there, and this is the price I’m willing to pay. I hope you get the life you deserve, Clarke, and even though sorry doesn’t cut it, I am sorry for what I did to you. But it seems like it all worked out in the end. Merry Christmas._

_\- Finn_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really could not resist the goddess comment especially after Bob's tweet, and with Clarke having already called him a walking Adonis I felt like I wouldn't forgive myself if I passed up the opportunity lol
> 
> Bellamy is a man in love and we love a man in love :) up next is the proposal and the wedding and since I cried writing the wedding scene from Clarke's perspective I'm assuming I'm definitely going to cry writing it from Bellamy's lol
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy seeks approval, a proposal, and a wedding!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried writing this and, let's be honest, after Bob's tweet I couldn't pass up the "forever and always" part ;)
> 
> And thank you to everyone who has read this story and those who have stuck with me through the long breaks and everyone who has bookmarked and left kudos, it means so much!! <3

**_Four and a half months later…_ **

 

“Our one year anniversary and I still can’t believe how lucky I am.” Bellamy murmurs as he pulls Clarke closer. They’ve spent the entire day together and with Madi, but Bellamy had told Clarke that he wanted them to have the night together, alone. Miller even offered to watch Madi with Raven and Shaw so the two them could have the house together.

“I still think you’re too good to be true,” Clarke smiles. “I keep feeling like I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

Bellamy hums. “Well, we can’t have you thinking that tonight is a dream.” Bellamy moves his hand from her waist and pinches her side.

“Hey!” She pulls back and swats at his shoulder which only makes him laugh.

“Sorry, Princess, just had to make sure you’re awake.” Bellamy grins before leaning down and pressing their foreheads together. “I don’t want you to miss a thing.”

“Never.” Clarke smiles and leans up on her toes to press her lips to his.

_One year…I can’t believe it_. The day started with Bellamy waking up to Clarke being draped across him and when he became coherent enough to realize that today was their anniversary, he moved from under her and propped himself above her, smiling. When she opened her eyes, the softest smile spread across her face and Bellamy pulled her towards him. _Happy anniversary, Clarke_. Clarke captured him with a sweet kiss, and they were able to have a few hours together before Madi came into the room and jumped into bed with them. Then Bellamy made breakfast for the three of them, and for Raven and Shaw, before joining Clarke in the shower.

After everyone had gotten ready, Bellamy took them out to the space museum since Clarke had said she’s been wanting to visit it, and they laid back in their chairs as they watched the stars and galaxies move around the ceiling. Then, Clarke made it a point to get Bellamy to the new history museum that had opened the day before. After that, the two of them dropped Madi off at home and came back to Bellamy’s so he could make her dinner, but Clarke made sure that he knew she was going to help him. _It is_ our _anniversary after all_.

Bellamy had looked out into the backyard when they first arrived and was pleased with how everything looked, then made a point to keep Clarke from looking before they were to go out there. He had talked Miller and Monty into helping him get everything set up for their dinner, so now the backyard was like a wonderland. There was a table with flowers and candles on the patio with string lights coming from the second floor and connected to the ground that makes a curtain of lights around them. Monty had even gone as far as to place more flowers around the backyard too. Bellamy had brought out a radio too which is what led to them now dancing under the lights with Clarke’s hand in his and her arm wrapped around his neck while his rests on her waist.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you are?” Bellamy murmurs into her hair and she giggles.

“Hmm…I don’t mind being reminded.” Clarke smiles against his chest. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Oh, I don’t look so bad? That’s a relief.” Bellamy teases and it makes her laugh even more.

“You are, hands down, the most attractive man I have ever met,” She grins up at him, “you’re my walking Adonis, babe.”

He nods his head in approval, returning her grin. “See, that’s more like it.”

Clarke throws her head back and laughs as he whisks her around the backyard. Hearing Clarke laugh so freely causes Bellamy to fall a little more in love with her, and he didn’t even know he could love her more than he already does. Which is also why he’s a big bundle of nerves knowing that there’s a ring hidden in his bedroom and he’s planning on making Clarke realize just how much he truly loves her.

They dance for a few more minutes and Bellamy twirls her around a few times before Clarke goes inside to get some more wine for the two of them. When she comes out, she hands Bellamy his drink and wraps her arms around him.

“This has been the best anniversary ever,” She hums as she leans against him.

“I’m glad you think so.” Bellamy smiles and turns to look at her. “But I’m wondering if there’s a way I could make it even better.” 

“What did you have in mind?” Her voice is barely above a whisper and Bellamy doesn’t miss the way her eyes slide down to his lips. _Oh, Clarke…_

He smiles. “You have a one tract mind, Princess.” He teases before he turns her around and wraps his arms around her waist. He starts trailing kisses along her neck and she leans her head to the side to give him better access.

“But I don’t seem to be wrong.” Her voice is higher and her chest is rising and falling faster.

“Let’s go to bed, baby.” Bellamy takes her hand and leads her into the house and towards the room.

He presses her against the door as soon as it’s shut and her hands tangle themselves in his hair. He had thought about proposing _before_ they tore each other’s clothes off, but he’s not going to complain about how things are going. He’s beginning to trail his lips down to her chest when she pulls gently on his hair and gets him to look up at her. He can tell he’s pouting and it makes Clarke giggle. _I like doing that_.

“Five minutes?” She’s panting and as he pouts even more, she laughs.

“Why not now?”

“I have a surprise for you.” She winks at him before slipping out of his grip and heading towards the bathroom, but he grabs her hand and pulls her back into him, kissing her.

“Okay, but I have a surprise for you too.”

When Bellamy hears the bathroom door lock, he immediately gets to work making the bedroom look more romantic. She had hinted at the fact she bought something to wear for him, but didn’t tell him what it was specifically, so while Bellamy is trying to get his proposal together his mind is racing with possibilities about what she’s doing.

He takes the box of blue flower petals out from his dresser and fans them out across the room, then gets to work lighting all of the little candles he had placed the day before. He rolls up his shirt sleeves and positions himself near the bed, in Clarke’s line of sight for when she comes out of the bathroom, and since he’s so nervous he almost forgets to grab the ring. Bellamy is able to slip the box into his pocket before Clarke comes out, but he realizes he forgot to turn on the music. However, when Clarke walks out of the bathroom, he doesn’t remember what he forgot.

Clarke bites her lip and smiles as she walks towards him and Bellamy follows all of her movements, taking her in as she gets closer to him. _God, I’m so fucking lucky_.

“You. Are. Breathtaking.” Bellamy reaches out and wraps one hand around her waist while using the other one to hold the back of her head. “And you’re all mine.” Bellamy’s voice is rough as he presses her into him and leans down to kiss her. She moans into his mouth and he deepens the kiss even further.

“Careful, Mr. Blake,” Clarke is out of breath when they break apart, “someone might think you’re in love with me.”

“Oh, baby, I’m planning on it.” Bellamy smirks before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers again. “Close your eyes.”

“Are you going to scare me?” Clarke quirks an eyebrow at him and his smirk turns into a grin.

“Princess.” Bellamy tilts his head to the side and something stirs in him when her mouth opens in a small _o_ and a flush rises to her cheeks. She bites her lip again then looks up at him and, _damn_ if that doesn’t do something to him. “Keep them closed.” Bellamy whispers into her ear before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

He walks over and presses play on the radio then a soft song begins to fill the air. He looks around and pats his pocket to make sure the ring is still there before turning and heading back to where Clarke is standing. When he’s standing in front of her again, he takes a deep breath then kneels in front of her. _It’s now or never_. “Open your eyes.”

Clarke opens her eyes slowly and Bellamy can tell when she realizes what’s going on because her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open as she looks down at him.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” she gasps. Bellamy’s eyes never leave hers as he holds the box with his left hand takes her left hand in his right. He hasn’t even said anything when he can see tears pricking the corners of her eyes. _Fuck_ , _hold it together, Bellamy_.

“Clarke—” He has to swallow the lump that’s trying to form in his throat. “Clarke, this past year has been the best year of my life and I want to have many more years with you. You’re my best friend, my confidant, the love of my life, and I want to spend the rest of my life experiencing everything with you.” He rubs his thumb over the back of her hand. “Will you marry me, Clarke, and make me the happiest man on the planet?”

Clarke grins and nods her head. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Clarke squeals and Bellamy has a split second before Clarke launches herself at him. He chuckles as he catches her, standing up and wrapping both of his arms around her before he spins her around. When he sets her down, she wastes no time crashing her lips to his.

When they pull apart, Bellamy is grinning down at her and her eyes are still shining. He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, running his thumb across her cheek as he does. He leans down and kisses her again.

“I love you, Bellamy,” she reaches up and runs both of her hands through his hair. “And I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you,” she smiles up at him.

“I love you too, Princess.” He leans down and kisses her again before grabbing her left hand and bringing it back down. “Now, I think this needs something.” He grins as he runs his thumb over her ring finger and gives her another kiss before taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her. It’s a solitary diamond on a metal band and, from the way Clarke is looking at it, it seems like Raven and Wells did a good job helping him pick it out.

“Bellamy, it’s beautiful.”

“But nothing will ever be as beautiful as you.” Bellamy leans down and kisses her again. She cups the side of his face with her ring hand and uses her other hand to tug at his black curls. A moan sounds from deep in his throat as he pulls her closer before leaning down and picking her up and walking over to the bed. She melts into him as he presses himself against her, and whenever he threads their hands together, the feeling of the ring against his fingers makes his heart soar even more.

 

**_Earlier that morning…_ **

 

After Clarke leaves to go take a shower, Madi helps Bellamy pick up since they kind of made a mess with breakfast. Raven and Zeke headed out to grab some coffee, so Bellamy is just left with Madi, and he looks down the hall to make sure that Clarke’s door is closed.

“Hey, Madi, I have a question.”

“What, daddy?” Madi looks up at him and Bellamy smiles.

“You know how Aunt O, Auggy, and Uncle Linc are a family?” Madi nods.

“Like us.”

“Yeah, like us.” Bellamy rubs the back of his neck and tries to figure out how exactly he can word this. “You know how you and mommy’s name is Griffin?” Madi nods. “Well how would you feel if mommy took my name and became a Blake?” Madi’s face scrunches up and she tilts her head to the side, like Clarke when she’s confused. “When two people love each other they get married, and I was wondering if I could marry mommy.”

“Mare-eed?”

“Yeah, it’s something mommies and daddies do so they know they’ll be together forever, and I want to be with mommy forever.”

“And me?”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

“Okay.” Madi smiles and nods her head and all of the tension that Bellamy had been feeling rushes out in a breath. _I need to get better at this._

“I love you, Mads.”

“I love you too, daddy.” Madi reaches up and Bellamy lifts her, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Bellamy had been planning on asking Clarke to marry him for months, but he always had the thought in the back of his mind that he wanted to ask Madi first. Of course he could never figure out the best way to ask her since she’s three and he hasn’t had much experience trying to explain the concept of marriage to a little kid.

The conversation he had with Octavia comes back into his mind.

“ _Just tell her you love Clarke and want to be with her, she’ll understand that_.”

“ _She already knows I love Clarke, O, she’ll probably wonder why I’m saying I want to be with her forever when I already told her that_.”

Bellamy chuckles lightly and the front door opens with Raven and Zeke coming back.

“Alright, hand me my niece so I can get her cleaned up.” Raven holds out her hands and Madi gives Bellamy a kiss on the cheek before going to Raven. “Why do you look so smug, Blake?”

“Mommy is going to be a Blake like daddy.” Madi declares proudly and Raven grins.

“In that case, you go get cleaned up too and I’ll make sure to tell everyone.”

“I’m already on it.” Zeke says as he types away on his phone. “Monty asked me when you were going to get her approval.”

“Do any of y’all have something else to do than poke your noses into our love life?” Bellamy asks and both Raven and Zeke shake their heads.

“Nope, this is too interesting.” Raven grins then shoves Bellamy towards the hallway and he laughs as he walks towards Clarke’s room.

 

**_\---_ **

**_Six months later…_ **

 

Bellamy wakes up to the sound of Octavia bursting into his hotel room and he throws a pillow over his head when she shrieks, “My big brother is getting married!” Bellamy can’t see anything that’s happening, but the bed starts to shake when Octavia decides to start jumping on it. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

“Octavia, you’re too old to be jumping on the bed.” Bellamy grumbles as he takes the pillow from on top of his head and swats it at his little sister.

“And you are too old to have gotten someone as beautiful as Clarke but you did it anyway.” Octavia says and Bellamy shoots her a withering look and her face softens. “I’m just joking, Bellamy.” She plops down on the bed beside him. “You two are perfect for each other and obviously ridiculously in love with one another. _You’re_ _marrying the love of your life_ , Bell.” She pokes him as she says it and it draws a laugh from him.

“Damn right I am.”

“There we go.” Octavia ruffles his hair then gives him a quick kiss on the head before hopping off the bed. “Now, I am going to go help the love of your life get ready to walk down the aisle and I leave you in the boys semi-capable hands.”

“Hey!” Jasper and Monty both protest but Octavia only grins.

“I’ll be the one holding the rings when you need them!” And then she’s gone.

The guys spill into the hotel room and Bellamy sits up, rubbing his eyes. Lincoln has August in his arms, Jasper and Monty both seem like they’re fighting to stay awake, and Murphy and Miller take up the first available seats they can find.

“Why did we have to wake up so early?” Murphy grumbles and Jasper nudges him.

“Because we wanted to share the pain with our girlfriends who also have to wake up this early.”

“Well I have no pain to share so wake me when we actually have to get ready.” Miller mumbles then leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest.

“I vote we get food.” Monty chimes in and that seems to get Jasper’s attention.

“Food?”

“What kind of food?” Bellamy asks before a yawn.

“Wells told me that he’s getting the girls McDonald’s.” Murphy says, not looking up from his phone.

“I could totally go for some McDonald’s right now.”

“I heard something about McDonald’s?” Kane’s voice comes from the door and everyone in the room turns to look at him.

“Thank you!” Jasper and Monty sprint forward and take the bags from Kane who laughs as he watches them.

“I figured all of you could use some food too.”

“Thank you, Kane.” Bellamy decides to get out of bed then shakes the other man’s hand.

“You’re welcome, son.” Kane clasps Bellamy on the shoulder and grins. “Big day.”

Nerves bubble up in Bellamy’s chest as he nods his head. “Really big day.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Definitely.”

“Well, all of those will go away when you see her walk down the aisle.”

“That’s what I keep telling him.” Lincoln smiles from his place by the table where all of the food seems to be laid out now. “It’s terrifying until it’s actually happening, then it’s only slightly scary.”

“But it’ll be one of the greatest moments of your life.” Kane’s eyes crinkle at the corners and the nerves that Bellamy had been overwhelmed with since the night before ebb away a little. “Now, let’s get started.”

 

 

Finally, Bellamy is standing at the alter with the priest while everyone looks up at him and towards the door. He knew that he and Clarke had agreed on the groomsmen walking the bridesmaids down the aisle to their spots, but he wasn’t exactly prepared for the awkwardness that would come with him standing alone.

Bellamy fidgets in his tuxedo and has to shove his hands into his pockets to keep them from shaking. _Only a little bit longer_. The image of Clarke dressed in white comes into his mind and he can feel a lump form in his throat already, and he hasn’t even seen her yet. Her smile, her laugh, everything about her consumes his thoughts and the realization that she’s about to become _Mrs. Blake_ finally sets in. _I feel like I’m dreaming_.

Music starts up and he’s pulled out of his thoughts by the doors at the other end of the room opening as Maya and Jasper start the procession down the aisle. _This is it_. They’re followed by Harper and Monty, then Emori and Murphy, Raven and Miller, then Wells and Octavia; Clarke and Bellamy’s man and maid of honor respectively. Then Madi, dressed in white like her mom, walks in as the flower girl with August walking beside her as the ring bearer.

Then, everyone rises as Clarke and her mom enter the room, and Bellamy’s breath is knocked from his lungs. _My gorgeous bride_. Clarke’s hair is pinned up and her dress clings to ever curve she has, every curve Bellamy loves. Her blue eyes find his and she gives him the brightest smile he’s ever seen, and he smiles back. He doesn’t try to fight the tears that spring to his eyes as he looks at her, and all of his senses seem to be heightened. To Bellamy, she looks like an angel gliding down the aisle towards him and, even though he’s never been a religious man, he thinks that this is what heaven must be like.

Bellamy has to fight the urge to walk towards her and wrap her up into his arms, because _good god_ he cannot wait to kiss her. He also can’t wait to be the one to get her out of the dress, but he tries not to think about that too much. Their entire relationship plays in his mind and the rest of their lives stretches out in front of him in the time it takes for her to reach him. After what feels like an eternity, Abby kisses Clarke and says something to her before Clarke moves to stand in front of him. Clarke smiles at him then turns and hands her bouquet to Wells then motions for Madi to come stand next to her. The two of them had decided that Madi was going to stand next to her mom and dad while they exchanged vows, because this was the day their little family was going to be united permanently. He knew he had started crying, but he can see that Clarke is crying too. Both of his girls are standing in front of him now, and Bellamy is pretty sure he couldn’t be happier. 

“You look beautiful, Princess.” Bellamy whispers and it makes Clarke blush. Then he smiles down at Madi. “And so do you, darling.”

“Thanks, daddy.” Madi smiles up at him.

The priest clears his throat and Clarke and Bellamy straighten, trying not to laugh at the fact that they had both been slouching in front of all their guests.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here today…”

Bellamy doesn’t pay too much attention to the priest’s words, even though he should, but he’s too busy looking into Clarke’s ocean blue eyes and trying to control his smiles which he knows probably looks goofy.

“—The couple have prepared their own vows.” The last few words drag Bellamy back to the ceremony and the priest looks over at him. _Right, I go first_. Bellamy can feel his cheeks heat up and Clarke’s smile widens.

“Clarke, a year and a half ago, almost to the day, I was sitting in the airport when a little girl came up to me asking if I could help her find her mom.” He smiles down at Madi. “Little did I know I was about to meet the most amazing woman I had ever met in my life. You are the other half of me. You’re stubborn, and can be heard headed at times,” everyone laughs and Bellamy can see Wells move to cover his mouth, “but you are strong, and intelligent, and the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. You’re my best friend, my soulmate, the person I want to have by my side for the rest of my life and if there’s life after death then I want to experience that with you too.

“And, Madi,” Bellamy turns to the little girl and kneels, taking her hand in his. Clarke had teared up when he told her that he wanted to bring Madi into their vows, too. When he glances at Clarke, she’s still smiling with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I asked you six months ago if I could marry your mom and you said yes, and now I’ve just made a vow to your mom but I’m also making a vow to you. I promise love you and help guide you through life and help you become the amazing woman I know you’ll be.” Bellamy pauses and looks up at Clarke, making her laugh before turning back to Madi. “You asking me to be your dad was one of the happiest days of my life and, today, it’s official.”

Bellamy stands, looking at Clarke and Madi. “I promise to love you both, and cherish you both, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for as long I live. Until death do us part.”

Clarke keeps smiling at him and reaches up to dab under her eyes before starting her own vows. “Bellamy, you came into my life during a time when I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I had been told that finding someone as a single mother would be near impossible, and then I met the most amazing man inside of an airport of all places,” everyone laughs and it makes Clarke smiles even wider. “I had never seen Madi take to someone so quickly, and if it wasn’t for her we never would’ve met.” Clarke smiles down at her daughter. “You are the most caring, funny, and overall most perfect human being I have ever laid my eyes on. I fell in love with you the moment I met you and it’s an honor to be able to call you my husband. You’re my best friend, my rock, my soulmate, and the person I want to spend the rest of my life experiencing everything with you by my side. I promise to love you, and cherish you, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as I live. Until death do us part.”

Clarke turns to Madi. “Madi, did you want to say something?”

The question catches Bellamy off guard because they hadn’t talked about whether Madi would say something or not, and since Clarke hadn’t brought it up he didn’t think about it, but now he feels bad for not doing so. _But maybe that's how she wanted it_. Bellamy kneels down in front of Madi again as she grins and nods her head, then he takes her hand again. “Daddy, I love you and I’m happy you and mommy are going to be together forever and I’m happy you’re going to be my daddy forever.” Madi lets go of Clarke’s hand and wraps her arms around Bellamy’s neck. The last little bit of composure that Bellamy was trying to hold onto melts away and then there’s tears freely flowing as he hugs his daughter. There’s a chorus of _aws_ from the audience and Bellamy is pretty sure he can hear how hard Jasper is crying. _Same, Jasper._

When Bellamy stands again, he has to wipe the tears from his eyes before taking Clarke’s hand again. “Now, Bellamy Blake, do you take Clarke Griffin to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

_Finally_. “I do.”

“Clarke Griffin do you take Bellamy Blake to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“And Madi Griffin, do you take Bellamy Blake to be your dad?”

“I already said I did.” Madi gives the older man a confused look and Clarke and Bellamy bust out laughing. They both exchange their rings and Bellamy’s having to physically restrain himself from kissing Clarke before he’s supposed to.

“Then, by the power vested in me I declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Bellamy can feel his face light up as he bends down to swing Madi into his arms before wrapping his free hand around Clarke’s waist and crashing his lips to hers. Madi laughs and there’s cheers erupting all around them. When they pull apart, there’s fresh tears in both of their eyes and Bellamy’s heart feels the fullest it’s ever been.

“Thank you for giving the best thing I could ever ask for, Princess.”

“And what’s that my beautiful husband?” Clarke smiles up at him.

“Being able to call the two of you my beautiful family.”

More tears roll down Clarke’s cheeks and she leans over to give Bellamy another kiss then turns and grabs her bouquet from Wells and moves to Bellamy’s left side. Before they start down the stairs, Bellamy and Clarke each kiss Madi’s cheeks at the same time, causing her to giggle and then they look at each other, grinning, before starting towards the doors.

 

 

“I have been looking forward to this speech since the day these two met.” Raven grins at Clarke and Bellamy and Bellamy has a feeling that she’s trying to figure out the best way to embarrass them before they can stop her. “I’ve known Clarke for nearly five years now, but the way in which we met was not the best, as some of you know, but over those years I’ve found that Clarke is one of the strongest, most intelligent, and down right gorgeous women I know. There have been times where someone would have buckled under some of the pressure that's placed on her, but she’s never let that stop her from being an amazing woman and an all-around amazing mother.

“I knew Bellamy before Clarke did, but when I was told that they met I wasn’t surprised. There’s something about the two of you,” Raven turns to face them, “that makes me believe there was always going to be something that led you two to find one another. You’re both intelligent, and smart, and where one lacks, the other fills it. The two of you complement each other perfectly, the head,” she nods to Clarke, “and the heart,” she smirks at Bellamy. “I couldn’t imagine a better fit for either of you. I love you both and I can’t wait to see where life takes the two of you because I know it’s going to be one hell of a ride.” Raven raises her glass and everyone else follows suit. “But, Bellamy Blake, if you do absolutely anything—”

“ _Raven_.” Clarke glares at her friend and Bellamy has to try and stifle his laugh. They had talked to everyone who was going to give a speech and told them not threatening the new couple, but Raven had a few drinks before it was her turn to talk.

Raven gives Clarke a wolfish grin before raising her glass. “To Bellamy and Clarke!”

“To Bellamy and Clarke!”

A few more of their friends give speeches before it’s time for the first dance between Clarke and Bellamy. He takes her hand and guides her to the dance floor and she immediately lays her head on his chest. Bellamy has been waiting to hold her like this since he woke up this morning and now that he is, he doesn’t want to let her go. He can hear her hum and he rests his head on top of hers as he guides them across the floor. _This is perfect_. When the song comes to an end, Bellamy tips her chin up and kisses her before they go to Madi and bring her in for the next dance.

The rest of the reception goes by with tons of laughing, smiling, and toasts being made. Bellamy never quits touching Clarke and eventually she quits using a chair and opts to sit in his lap, which he’s more than okay with. She gives him a sweet smile and he grins up at her, tightening his arm around her waist and kissing her shoulder. He wanted to be as close to her as possible and this is the best way he could imagine it. _Until tonight_.

Bellamy watches Clarke interact with everyone and it makes him smile. She’s smiling and laughing with everyone and she looks so relaxed and content and after the past few months of stress over the wedding details, he hopes that it’ll last. At some point, she starts running her fingers through his hair while she talks to Emori and Bellamy hums before he can stop himself. Clarke notices and turns to look at him, then she smiles and leans down to give him a kiss. When she pulls back, Bellamy brings her in for another kiss and loves when she smiles against his lips.

“Someone’s excited.” Clarke whispers and Bellamy runs his hand over her waist.

“I am excited, and I’m excited to get you home, too.” Bellamy murmurs and can feel Clarke shift in his lap. “You are angelic, you know that?”

“Mmm…” Clarke purrs and begins massaging his scalp with her fingers. “I thought I was a goddess?”

“You are everything.” Bellamy whispers and Clarke giggles. He knows it’s cheesy, but it’s his wedding day and he’s allowed to say stuff like that. “I love you, Mrs. Blake.”

“I love you too, Mr. Blake.” Clarke keeps smiling as she leans down to give him a kiss.

 

 

“Finally, I get you all to myself,” Clarke purrs as she wraps her arms around Bellamy’s neck.

“We’re not even in the house yet, Princess.” Bellamy smiles as he leads Clarke towards the front door of his house.

“Mmm…no one is home.” Clarke starts pressing open mouth kisses to Bellamy’s neck and he doesn’t even try to repress the moans that are coming from his throat. Like she said, there’s no one home. Bellamy turns and moves his hand into her hair, pulling it back so he can kiss her. Clarke moans into his mouth before he pulls away.

“Since this is the first night of you being my wife, I’d like to do you in an actual bed instead of outside on my porch, baby.” He kisses her cheek. “Maybe another night.”

Clarke gasps and he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face as he unlocks the door. He pushes it open then turns back to her, picking her up and walking across the threshold with her. Clarke giggles all the way from the front door until he reaches their bedroom and he sets her down, and it’s the best sound ever.

“Now, Mrs. Blake, let’s get you out of this dress.” Bellamy leans down and kisses her while his hands move to the lace at her back. “God, I’ve been waiting for this since I saw you at the end of the aisle.”

“Careful, Mr. Blake, someone might think you’re in love with me.” Clarke teases as she starts trailing kisses down his neck again. Bellamy pulls back and kisses her again.

“Oh, baby, I’d be worried if they didn’t.” He grins as he begins slipping the dress down her body. “I love you, Clarke Blake.”

“And I love you, Bellamy Blake.”

_Forever and always_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! I loved writing this story from Bellamy's POV and I cried even more writing the wedding scene lol I hope you loved this as much as I did and if you want more then I'm already working on part 3 which will take place between the proposal and the wedding :)
> 
> I hope you liked it!  
> x

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated xx
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at xxawalkinwonderlandxx or on Twitter at xfanwonderlandx !


End file.
